Times Colonist

Trump protection­ism has Europe eyeing Canada: EU minister

- MIKE BLANCHFIEL­D

OTTAWA — The protection­ist approach of U.S. President Donald Trump means European companies are looking to “exploit” new opportunit­ies in Canada, the European Union’s agricultur­e minister says.

That’s one reason why Phil Hogan, the EU’s commission­er for agricultur­e and rural developmen­t, is leading a trade mission of 60 mainly European food and drink companies to a major industry event Tuesday in Toronto.

That European business delegation stayed home while Hogan was in Washington last week for talks with U.S. officials, he told the Canadian Press in an interview Monday. “We see Mr. Trump’s declaratio­n of being more protection­ist as an opportunit­y for the European Union to be able to pivot to other parts of the world and other regions in order to exploit the potential that is there,” Hogan said.

Hogan’s visit comes after Canada’s Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne pushed the same trade diversific­ation message on a trade mission to China last week where he had Canadian softwood lumber representa­tives in tow. As yet another softwood skirmish — the fifth in 35 years — was breaking out with the U.S., Champagne was stressing the need to find new markets for Canadian forestry products.

Hogan met Monday with Champagne and Agricultur­e Minister Lawrence MacAulay before heading to Toronto, where he and his entourage of European companies from 23 EU countries will attend an internatio­nal food and beverage trade show.

Hogan said he’s confident Parliament will ratify the Comprehens­ive Economic and Trade Agreement before the summer break, which would mean more than 90 per cent of it would take effect under what is called provisiona­l applicatio­n.

The European Parliament ratified the deal in February.

Negotiatio­ns towards a similar EU-U.S. trade deal are not officially dead, but Hogan said that with Trump in the White House, they are currently on hold.

Trump’s anti-trade policies represent an opportunit­y for Canada and the EU to build on trade links with each other and with other non-U.S. partners, said Hogan.

“We want to take the opportunit­y that this CETA agreement gives us now to have a win-win scenario for Canadian and European Union exports at a time when there is uncertaint­y in relation to trade in the United States.”

The ongoing work on the world’s post-Trump trade agenda continues Tuesday in Toronto when Canada hosts another round of talks of countries that used to be part of the 12-country TransPacif­ic Partnershi­p trade deal, which would have encompasse­d 40 per cent of the global economy.

Unlike the U.S.-EU trade talks, which remain in limbo, Trump effectivel­y declared the TPP dead when he pulled the U.S. out of the deal after his inaugurati­on in January. The U.S. withdrawal amounted to a deal-killing veto of the TPP because it was the largest of the Pacific Rim countries in the pact.

Canada joined the first round of post-TPP talks in Chile in March and agreed to host this week’s round of talks, Champagne told reporters Monday in Ottawa.

Champagne said Canada wants to show that it “wants to be front and centre when it comes to open, principled trade in the AsiaPacifi­c region.”

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