PM’s unique chance to reach trade deal
Amid NAFTA uncertainty, Asia-Pacific has become more important in feds’ eyes
MANILA, PHILIPPINES— Justin Trudeau landed in the Philippines on Sunday with the goal of raising Canada’s profile in the Asia-Pacific region, especially on security issues and trade.
This week, Trudeau will become the first sitting Canadian prime minister to participate in the annual East Asia Summit and is the only one who’s ever been invited, his office said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the East Asia Summit will give Trudeau a chair at the top security table in the region.
He will sit alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump during discussions on the security situation involving North Korea, she said.
“That is a really big deal,” Freeland said of the forum, held in conjunction with the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “Canada has never been there before.”
The ASEAN summit itself will give Trudeau an opportunity to raise concerns about human rights and advance his trade agenda with the emerging bloc of 10 Southeast Asian countries, which is already Canada’s sixth-largest trading partner.
Combined, the countries boast a market of 640 million people and an expanding middle class. They have been churning out significant economic growth.
With the uncertainty surrounding Canada’s NAFTA renegotiation, the Asia-Pacific has become increasingly important in the government’s eyes.
Under Liberal and Conservative governments, Ottawa has taken steps in recent years to increase its presence in the region. Canada named its first ambassador dedicated to ASEAN in 2014. In September, the government opened exploratory free-trade talks with the association.
“We are very much positioning ourselves in the Asia-Pacific,” International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said before Trudeau left for his trip to the region.
Experts, however, say Ottawa has largely failed in the past to maintain a consistent connection with ASEAN members.