Canada on brink of huge TPP trade deal

The federal government appeared poised Sunday to sign on to a sweeping TransPacific Partnership ( TPP) trade deal that’s been years in the making for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. And when the controversial deal is finally done, it could carry significant political implications for the home stretch of the federal election campaign.

Trade ministers meeting in Atlanta expected to wrap up negotiations Sunday. However, talks dragged into the night as all sides tried to iron out last- minute concerns. A late sprint toward agreement turned into yet another marathon negotiating session, as a few lingering issues, including some related to Canada’s dairy industry, repeatedly delayed an announcement of a deal.

The agreement is meant to reduce or remove tariffs and other barriers on sectors across the economy and potentially increase Canadian exports in a wide variety of products and services.

However, several parts of the deal are contentious. They could increase imports into Canada, including on automobiles and auto parts, and dairy products, which could benefit consumers but potentially hurt these two sectors of the domestic economy.

While the agreement will have a huge economic impact on Canada in the coming years, the political fallout could be immediate.

Ontario, home of Canada’s auto sector and second- largest number of dairy farms ( about 4,000), also holds 121 of the country’s 338 seats, while Quebec and its 78 federal seats is home to the largest number of dairy farms in Canada ( about 5,900 farms).

The federal government has promised not to break up Canada’s supply management system, which hands dairy and poultry farmers production quotas and protects them behind a tariff wall from foreign competition.

Some TPP countries, notably New Zealand and the United States, have been pushing for greater access to Canada’s dairy market. Harper has promised he would not sacrifice Canada’s supply management sector.

The Conservative leader, however, has cautioned that Canada’s automotive industry may not be happy with parts of the TPP.

Canadian auto parts manufacturers and Unifor, the country’s largest private sector union, have raised concerns the agreement could allow Japanese auto companies to export cars to North America with significantly less North American content than is currently required.

Unifor national president Jerry Dias has said a completed TPP will devastate Ontario’s auto parts manufacturers.

The TPP agreement is expected to surpass the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA) in economic importance to Canada and includes two of the world’s three largest economies ( the U. S. and Japan).

The agreement must be ratified by Parliaments in each country, which could prove a serious challenge and takes several years to complete.