National Post (National Edition)
EU trade czar pitches CETA opportunities on Canada visit
THE BIGGEST HURDLE IS THAT NOT ENOUGH COMPANIES ARE AWARE OF ITS POSSIBILITIES. — CECILIA MALMSTROM
MONTREAL • In a warehouse on the outskirts of Montreal, European trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom surveyed rows of boxed-up electric bicycles bound for bike-share systems from Honolulu to Sao Paulo.
“I wouldn’t bother with the Netherlands,” she said to PBSC Urban Solutions’ CEO. “Too flat.”
With freshly-inked deals in Spain and France, the Montreal-area provider of bike-sharing solutions exemplifies the possibilities of the year-old Canada-eu free trade accord.
Still, Malmstrom says a lack of awareness in Canada and a wave of anti-globalization nationalism abroad may be contributing to the country’s sluggish start to seizing opportunities in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
“The biggest hurdle is that not enough companies are aware of its possibilities,” Malmstrom said in an interview Wednesday.
“And we have a wave of politically quite nationalistic governments and political parties in the European Union. We are trying to overcome that anti-globalization feeling — true feelings that people feel left behind in the economic crisis.
“Trade is used by some political parties for blame,” she added.
CETA has been in effect provisionally for one year, eliminating tariffs on 98 per cent of goods flowing between Canada and theeu, according to Global Affairs Canada.
However, figures from Statistics Canada show that after years of modest growth, Canadian exports to the EU grew just one per cent year-over-year in the first 10 months after CETA’S implementation. Meanwhile, imports from the EU shot up more than 12 per cent between October and July, compared to the same period in 2016-17.
“It does show that Europe has been a little quicker out of the gate compared to Canadian businesses,” said Mark Agnew, director of international policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“Part of the pitch that Canada makes about the value of inward investment is that you have access to the North American market. And obviously if NAFTA is not there, it becomes a little more difficult to pitch that narrative.”
Building relationships and supply chains takes time, he stressed, and the Europeans have more experience in diversifying trade.
“It is a tough grind to be out there and pound the pavement with buyers on the other side of the ocean,” Agnew said.
Malmstrom arrived in Montreal Wednesday for her first meeting with International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr as well as the first joint committee meeting of CETA.