16 April 2009

PM to push free trade at Summit of Americas

The following is excerpted from today's "Toronto Star".

Canada will push to advance free trade talks at the Summit of the Americas this weekend as it warns other countries against developing protectionist policies to cope with the economic crisis....

Harper will travel to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow along with Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas) Peter Kent to attend the fifth Summit of the Americas with the leaders of 33 other countries.

The economic crisis and the election of President Barack Obama have combined to create a context drastically different from that which met leaders at the previous Summit of the Americas in Argentina in 2005, which was dominated by anti-George W. Bush rhetoric and divisions over pursuing a Free Trade Area of the Americas, an idea that is now effectively dead.

This is the first Summit of the Americas since Harper came to power in 2006 and, given that his government has made the region a focus of its foreign policy, there is a lot at stake for him.

"Canada is very interested in a good, active, reciprocal relationship, a productive one, with this part of the world and we have not yet done enough to get that across," said John Graham, chair of the Ottawa-based think tank Canadian Foundation for the Americas.

"The summit is a vehicle for doing that."

Canada, which has negotiated free trade deals with Peru and Colombia, plans to explore interest in bilateral talks with other countries.

Canada plans to continue negotiating a free-trade agreement with the 15 member countries of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), but Soudas would not speculate on whether the goal would be achieved this weekend.

William Payne, co-ordinator for the Americas policy group at the Ottawa-based Canadian Council for International Co-operation, expressed concern the push for more free trade agreements will come at the expense of human rights.