Oct 31, 2017

In a non-NAFTA world, Canada and the U.S. will still continue to trade and the U.S. will continue to be Canada’s largest trading partner, albeit under somewhat different rules. The real change will be psychological. In the eyes of many in Canada, the U.S. can no longer be trusted to play by the rules, and to assume its traditional role as a champion for liberalized trade. Against this backdrop, Canada and China are going through the preliminary stages of launching their own trade negotiations.

Nov 18, 2016

With the election of Donald Trump to the White House, the Obama Administration has finally accepted the inevitable and has announced that it will cease efforts to push the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) forward in the waning days of the Lame Duck session. Over the long term, Washington will need to re-assert its trade presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The supply chains are too interwoven and interdependent for the U.S. to go at it alone, despite the isolationist rhetoric emanating from the U.S. election.

Sep 27, 2016

On the eve of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s official visit to Ottawa, the Globe and Mail reported that Canada and China had agreed to begin negotiations on an extradition treaty.

Dec 15, 2015

As the U.S. moves to recalibrate its own relationships with a rising China on trade, the environment and security issues, its neighbors and allies are forging their own path on building economic, political, and cultural ties.

Oct 08, 2015

Despite President Xi Jinping’s efforts to assuage the concerns of U.S. business executives while in Seattle, Hugh Stephens argues that these statements don’t reflect reality—that China imposes a much wider range of restrictions on U.S. investors than is the case for Chinese investment in the US.

Aug 11, 2015

Support for Chinese investment has been declining in Canada, particularly because of the concentration of investments in the resource sector. However, attitudes toward Asia can change, depending on the context, the question, and extraneous elements such as negative media coverage of domestic and international events.

Mar 06, 2015

Asian states will look at potential partners around the Pacific Rim and determine if they are ready to walk the walk or simply talk the talk. So far the lesson of Canada and Australia is that walking the walk requires sustained, strategic commitment, but has a big potential payoff. Australia has been taking concrete steps to solidify its relationship with Asia; Canada has been talking about it, and is only now starting to put into place an engagement program with substance.

Nov 25, 2014

China is the leading advocate for progress in the form of a “feasibility study” on an inclusive new regional trade agreement, the FTAAP. Concerned that this will detract from U.S. regional interests, the FTAAP ironically has provided impetus for the completion of the U.S.-led TPP proposal.

Nov 06, 2014

The web of overlapping free trade agreements in the Asian Pacific have largely excluded Taiwan, and the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) may be an option for inclusion. Taiwan’s unique position as an independent, export economy while still reliant on Mainland China, could actually be mutually beneficial for the region.

Oct 15, 2014

Following the ratification of Canada’s Foreign Investment Protection Agreement with China, Hugh Stephens examines the controversy surrounding the Canadian agreement and explains how existing trade and investment treaties between China and the United States promote Canadian investment interests as well.