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Thank you for visiting this Padlet. Here I will be talking about Free Trade Agreements and Protectionism. It has been quite a hot topic since the election of Donald Trump as the new United States President and it effects us all as Canadians.

In this website you will find information on free trade and protectionism and how it affects us as Canadians. We not only have trade agreements with the United States and Mexico through NAFTA but also with other countries.

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Video #1 - How to Enrich a Country: Free Trade or Protectionism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ITyd1Pzek0

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Video #1 - How to Enrich a Country: Free Trade or Protectionism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ITyd1Pzek0

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In this video The School of Life takes us through the history of free trade and how it came about. I chose to share this link because it is always interesting to find out where our modern economic ideas have come from.

Video Summary:
The debate between free trade and protectionism goes back a long way, starting in Europe in the 15th century. The protectionist ideas began as a theory known as Mercantilism, it reigned a until 1776 when "An Inquiry into the Nature and Caufes of the Wealth of Nations" was published. In this novel Adam Smith noticed that one country would have a natural aptitude at making certain goods over another, therefore they should make the goods that they're good at making and trade with another country for the things they do not excel at making. In the end they conclude that free trade has won the argument for which theory has won.

What I found useful:
I found it useful to know that recently there have been more people who are for Protectionism and this is because they believe that Free Trade has been neglecting the workers in their own country.

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How to Enrich a Country: Free Trade or Protectionism?

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Image #1 - North American Trade in 2015 - http://www.visualcapitalist.com/nafta-mixed-track-record/

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Image #1 - North American Trade in 2015 - http://www.visualcapitalist.com/nafta-mixed-track-record/

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I chose this image because it shows how NAFTA has increased trade for Canada, US and Mexico between 1993 and 2015. I think that it is good to know that trade has increased over the years and that it has caused prices to be lowered for some consumer goods.

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Website #1 - NAFTA, Trump, Canada and trade: Whats going on? A guide - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/nafta-what-do-trump-and-canada-want/article33715250/

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Website #1 - NAFTA, Trump, Canada and trade: Whats going on? A guide - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/nafta-what-do-trump-and-canada-want/article33715250/

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I chose to share this website because it gives a great amount of detail about the NAFTA agreement after President Trump had been elected and it is updated when new information becomes available.

The article lets you know where trade is right now, why they want to change NAFTA, what could replace NAFTA, effects on Mexico and who is deciding what happens with the agreement on each side.

I think that it is interesting to note that for 35 US States Canada is their most important foreign market, either as their number one or number two trade partner.

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The Trump administration will exempt Canada and Mexico from punishing tariffs on steel and aluminum, but the relief is set to be indefinite. The duties are expected to come into effect on March 23.

Last week, Donald Trump promised tariffs on the metals from all countries - 25 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively - citing "national security" reasons. Canada is the largest supplier of both metals to the United States.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said tariffs affecting Canada would be an "absolutely unacceptable" move. Behind the scenes, Canadian officials pressed for an exemption, while also preparing a host of retaliatory tariffs if Canadian industry is hit after all, senior officials told The Globe and Mail.

Monday marked the end of the seventh round of talks on the North American free-trade agreement in Mexico. There, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that he wants a deal within four to six weeks.

Mr. Lighthizer raised the possibility of negotiating separate bilateral deals rather than one trilateral deal, something that Mexico shot down.

The NAFTA timetable is complicated by the July 1 election where Mexicans will choose the successor to President Enrique Pena Nieto. U.S.-Mexico relations have been extra-tense since Mr. Trump "lost his temper" in a Feb. 20 call with Mr. Nieto, who pushed back at the U.S. President's insistence that Mexico should pay the bill for his planned border wall, the Washington Post reported. In response, Mr. Pena Nieto cancelled a visit to the White House.

The 1994 agreement - an expanded version of a Canada-U.S. free-trade deal from 1988 - created what was then the biggest free-trade area in the world. It removed barriers to the flow of goods and labour between Canada, the United States and Mexico, under the oversight of an independent dispute-settlement process.

Canada - the world's largest purchaser of U.S. goods - saw its exports to U.S. markets soar. The Americans are less dependent on NAFTA than Canada is, The Globe's Steven Chase explains: Trevor Tombe, a University of Calgary economist, calculates that there are only two American states - Michigan and Vermont - where trade with Canada exceeds 10 per cent of their annual economic output.

What has NAFTA done for us? Four views from three countries: (Return to top)
The politics of free trade have undergone a remarkable U-turn since NAFTA, and the FTA before it, came into being.

In 1988, Canada had a Progressive Conservative prime minister, Brian Mulroney, who fought an election over the Canada-U.S. trade deal with the Liberals opposing it. He also had pro-free-trade Republican allies in the White House, with Ronald Reagan and later George H.W. Bush, backing him up.

Contrast that with 2016, when protectionism turned into a defining theme of the U.S. election. Both presidential candidates opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal even bigger than NAFTA, but the Republican Mr. Trump also singled out NAFTA and promised to erect a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In his inauguration speech, Mr. Trump promised an "America first" attitude to trade, immigration and foreign affairs.
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In its initial months, Mr. Trump's inner circle strongly disagreed about what demands to make in NAFTA renegotiations. There was a moderate camp, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Mr. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, that wanted to enhance NAFTA and make cross-border business easier for corporations, and a protectionist camp, including former chief strategist Steven Bannon.

Out of that conversation came an initial list of 100 broad, sometimes vaguely worded demands that the U.S. Trade Representative's Office released on July 17. Some highlights include:

Reducing the U.S. trade deficit within NAFTA, which could mean increasing U.S. exports or reducing Canadian and Mexican imports.

Scrapping NAFTA's dispute-resolution panels, which have sometimes ruled in Canada's favour on softwood lumber and other trade issues.

Making it easier for U.S. telecom companies and banks to operate in the other NAFTA countries.

Opening up more Canadian or Mexican government contracts to U.S. companies.

Using "Buy American" provisions to bar Canadian or Mexican firms from seeking U.S. government contracts.

Making Canadian and Mexican intellectual-property rules more "similar to that found in U.S. law."

The Trump administration's most contentious NAFTA demands began to take shape at the fourth round of talks in Arlington, Va. Demands include:

Auto manufacturing: The Americans reportedly want at least 85 per cent North American content and 50 per cent U.S. content in vehicles that can travel duty-free between the NAFTA countries - a rule they want U.S. manufacturers exempted from. Currently, vehicles have to have 62.5 per cent North American content to be duty-free, but it can come from any of the three countries.

Dairy: The U.S. wants an end to Canada's supply-management regime for dairy and poultry products.

Sunset clause: The U.S. wants the new NAFTA to expire in five years unless the member countries agree to renew it.

But at the same time, players knowledgeable about the NAFTA talks told The Globe that the Canadian side has been unclear what the mercurial Mr. Trump actually wants, whether he will sign a deal or whether the U.S. demands are meant to provoke Canada or Mexico to abandon the deal first. Other officials said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were jockeying for position and competing to please a constituency of one - Mr. Trump - and this was hindering actual negotiations.

(Return to top) Dairy supply management
Canada's dairy, egg and poultry industries are governed by a supply-management system that dates back to the 1970s. It has three parts, The Globe's Barrie McKenna explains: Fixed prices, production quotas and tariffs to protect Canadian producers from foreign competition. The dairy tariffs - which run up to 270 per cent, and which Canada tightened in 2016 to include unfiltered milk products used to make cheese and yogurt - have been a thorn in the side of other dairy-producing nations like the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Mr. Trump's interest in the dairy file began with events in Wisconsin, a major dairy-producing state, The Globe's Joanna Slater explains. Local processor Grasslands Dairy Products Inc. wrote a letter to Wisconsin farmers recently saying it would stop buying the farmers' milk because of new Canadian classification rules for a product used in cheese making, which would give companies an incentive to buy domestically instead of from the United States. A letter-writing campaign to Mr. Trump - who narrowly won the state in the 2016 election - and congressional efforts by Wisconsinite House Speaker Paul Ryan made the dispute into a national issue, and at an April 18 event in Kenosha, Wisc., the President vowed to challenge Ottawa on its dairy policy:

In Canada, some very unfair things have happened to our dairy farmers, and others, and we're going to start working on that. It's another typical one-sided deal against the United States.

In the months that followed, the Trudeau administration spoke in strong defence of Canada's dairy and poultry sectors. Then, in the fourth round of NAFTA renegotiation talks, the Trump administration put its demands on the table: Phase out all tariffs associated with dairy and poultry supply management over 10 years. Canadian negotiators flatly rejected the demand, according to sources familiar with the talks.

Softwood lumber
Feuds over softwood lumber have been a recurring part of Canada-U.S. relations since the 1980s. Their root cause is U.S. industry's contention that Canada unfairly subsidizes its lumber by providing cheap access to public land. It's led to a cycle of American punitive action, followed by trade cases mostly won by Canada, and then a compromise settlement.

The fifth and most recent lumber war was set off on April 24, when U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said his agency would impose new anti-subsidy duties on Canadian softwood. The initial duties added up to about 20 per cent, but a second wave of anti-dumping duties in late June brought that total to about 27 per cent. The U.S. International Trade Commission upheld the duties in a unanimous final ruling on Dec. 7, arguing that Canadian shipments of softwood lumber were hurting American producers.

The Trudeau cabinet discussed an aid package for the softwood industry in May, but waited for provincial input from a special working group before announcing $867-million in aid on June 1. Ottawa gave the industry loan guarantees, help finding new markets for its products, employment-insurance support for workers and money for new initiatives from Indigenous forestry producers.

In November, the government also asked for a binational panel to settle the tariff dispute, using NAFTA's Chapter 19. ( Read more below on what Chapter 19 is.)
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Two of NAFTA's dispute-resolution mechanisms are being targeted for major changes. How is Chapter 11 different from Chapter 19? Here are the basics.
Chapter 11: Government vs. businesses
Imagine a scenario where Country A passes a law that a corporation based in Country B feels would hurt its business. If Country B Inc. sues Country A's government, the case goes to arbitration by an ad-hoc panel of lawyers appointed by the NAFTA countries, in a process set out in NAFTA's Chapter 11. The idea is that these panels would be more independent than if the case were settled by Country A's courts. But critics say the lawyers appointed to these panels risk conflicts of interest because of their business activities back home.

Canada has faced more Chapter 11 lawsuits than any other country - about 40 so far - most of which challenge its environmental protections and natural-resource policies. A 2015 study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found Canada was the target of more than 70 per cent of all NAFTA investor-state claims since 2005, and study author Scott Sinclair warned that the problem was getting worse:

Canada has now been sued more times through investor-state dispute settlement than any other developed country in the world.

One of Canada's goals in the NAFTA renegotiations is to overhaul Chapter 11 so that, instead of ad hoc panels, there would be set rosters of judges appointed by the NAFTA countries.
Chapter 19: Government vs. government
Whereas Chapter 11 lays out how companies can sue governments, Chapter 19 is for trade feuds between governments. If Country A imposes trade duties on Country B that B's government thinks are unfair, B can appeal to an independent panel rather than seeking redress in Country A's courts, which could presumably be biased in Country A's favour.

Canada likes this arrangement because it has used it to successfully challenge American duties on softwood lumber and other products. But the Trump administration thinks the independent panels are a violation of U.S. sovereignty, and it wants U.S. courts to handle trade disputes.

In July, a senior official told The Globe that scrapping the independent panels is a "red line" Canada will not cross, and the Trudeau government would walk away from NAFTA talks if the U.S. won't budge. Mr. Trudeau wouldn't confirm the part about potentially walking away, but said he considers the panels "essential" to a new deal.
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While Canada and the United States have been at odds at the NAFTA table, two of their major plane manufacturers have been fighting a trade war of their own.

U.S. plane maker Boeing accused its Quebec-based rival Bombardier of benefiting from unfair Canadian and British government subsidies that let it sell its C Series planes at cut-rate prices. Boeing asked the Trump administration for help, and in September the U.S. Commerce Department obliged, imposing a series of tariffs much higher than Boeing had asked for: nearly 300 per cent on C Series imports. The Trudeau administration and Theresa May's government in the U.K. condemned the duties, which got overturned in January in a surprise victory for Bombardier at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

On Oct. 16, Bombardier took a dramatic step to try resolving the dispute: It announced a deal to sell the C Series division to Airbus, a European aerospace firm that has a manufacturing plant in Alabama. Bombardier's CEO hopes that assembling the planes in the United States would avoid the U.S. duties.
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Building barriers (both physical and economic) with Mexico has been Mr. Trump's stated goal since he began running for president; in the 2015 speech announcing his campaign (the one where he said "rapists" and criminals were coming across the U.S.-Mexico border), he said Mexicans were "laughing at us" and "killing us economically." Now that Mr. Trump is president, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is in a tight spot. He is facing domestic pressure to stand up to Washington about the wall that Mr. Trump wants Mexico to pay for, which Mexico refuses to do. But Mr. Pena Nieto also has to avoid alienating a major trading partner and being shut out of the new North American trade regime.

Major trade issues for Mexico in the NAFTA talks include:

Energy: Mexico's energy market has undergone major free-market reforms in recent years, making it a lucrative target for U.S. and Canadian energy companies. Ottawa and Washington would want to see that liberalization cemented in a new NAFTA, Globe energy reporter Shawn McCarthy explains.

Auto manufacturing: The spectre of U.S. auto makers moving assembly plants to Mexico was a frequent target of Mr. Trump's election speeches in 2016. The Trump administration's proposed changes to "rules of origin" would have a big impact on auto manufacturers by redefining which products can be shipped duty-free across borders, based on where their component parts come from.

Sugar: Under NAFTA, Mexico's sugar producers have free access to the U.S. market, but U.S. refiners accuse Mexico of subsidizing its industry and hurting American business. The nations reportedly reached a deal on the issue in June, averting a messy escalation of duties on Mexican sugar and American high-fructose corn syrup.

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Here's some more reading on key people to watch on the trade file.
The Canadian side:

Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister

François-Philippe Champagne, International Trade Minister

Steve Verheul, chief NAFTA negotiator

David MacNaughton, Canadian ambassador to the U.S.

Bipartisan advisory panel that includes former Conservative and NDP politicians, the head of the Assembly of First Nations, business leaders and labour organizers

The American side:

Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative

Wilbur Ross, Commerce Secretary

Kelly Craft, newly confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Canada

The Mexican side:

Ildefonso Guajardo, Economy Minister

Luis Videgaray, Foreign Minister

Kenneth Smith Ramos, chief NAFTA negotiator

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Uncertainty over NAFTA's future has already had far-reaching effects on the Canadian economy, from the dollar to the energy sector - and, ultimately, to your personal finances. Here's some more reading on what might be coming.

More reading on the economy and personal finance: More reading on oil and gas: More reading on manufacturing and technology: More reading on agriculture: (Return to top)
A new North American trade regime would be only part of larger changes in America's, and Canada's, role in the world - and with NAFTA's future in question, Canada is looking for other sources of trade revenue.

Asia-Pacific: Mr. Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership apparently killed the trade deal, but 11 countries gave it a new lease on life with China's help. In January, 2018, after months of diplomatic back-and-forth about what a new TPP should look like, high-level talks in Tokyo produced a revised version that the 11 countries are hoping to officially approve by March.

Europe: The European Union, Canada's second-largest trading partner, finalized a trade deal with Canada even broader in scope than NAFTA: the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which provisionally took effect on Sept. 21. On Sept. 18, British Prime Minister Theresa May said her administration and Mr. Trudeau's had agreed that Canada and Britain should strike a new bilateral trade deal once Britain's exit from the EU is complete, and CETA should be used as the template for it.

Here's some more commentary and analysis exploring the global questions.
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NAFTA talks are continuing to alternate between the United States, Mexico and Canada until a resolution is reached. The Trump administration originally wanted a deal by the end of 2017, but after the fourth round of talks they said they could wait until at least the end of March, 2018.

If Canada and Mexico don't give in to the Trump administration's demands, Mr. Trump may pull the plug on NAFTA to force their hand. Under Article 2205 of NAFTA, which allows any country to withdraw after giving six months' notice; the process may not lead to a definite pull-out, but it gives the U.S. the option to leave.

(Return to top) With reports from Adrian Morrow, Bill Curry, Steven Chase, Robert Fife, Greg Keenan, Barrie McKenna, Evan Annett, Reuters and The Canadian Press MORE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL

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NAFTA, Trump and Canada: A guide to the trade file and what it could mean for you

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The Trump administration will exempt Canada and Mexico from punishing tariffs on steel and aluminum, but the relief is set to be indefinite. The duties are expected to come into effect on March 23. Last week, Donald Trump promised tariffs on the metals from all countries - 25 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively - citing "national security" reasons.

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This is a video by CNNMoney. I chose to show this video because NAFTA is a very important agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Here in Canada we are able to get many of our goods cheaper because of this agreement and without it we could expect to pay very high tariffs and taxes.

Video Summary:
NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, United States, and Mexico. It was proposed in 1992 and was extremely controversial. Critics feared job loss to Mexico and supporters said it would lead to cheaper goods. NAFTA took away trade barriers which lowered costs of goods to consumers. Watch the video to find out what NAFTA has accomplished.

What I found useful:
The video gives a good background on the effects that free trade has had on the United States. It was also useful in helping create a couple of questions in my mind. Can we assume that this will happen if Canada creates more free trade agreements with other countries? What would happen if the United States tore up NAFTA?

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This image shows what moves people away from supporting free trade agreements closer to a protectionist attitude. One of the major reasons why Donald Trump had wanted to get rid of NAFTA was to protect American Employees and make sure they have jobs.

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I chose this article to show that it is not just the United States and Mexico that Canada will have a free trade agreement with.

In this article they talk about how CETA may be a counterweight to anticipated protectionism under the new president of the United States. They believe that it is more than just a free trade agreement but also to show how Canada can relate to the rest of the world.

I find it interesting that this has been in negotiation for over two years. It goes to show that these agreements take a long time to work out and are not decisions made over night.

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A planned EU-Canada free trade deal moved closer to reality on Tuesday after a key committee advised the European Parliament to give its backing after months of protests and heated debate.

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is seen as a test of Europe's ability to forge future trade accords and as a counterweight to anticipated protectionism under new U.S. President Donald Trump.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters at the cabinet retreat in Calgary that this was "an important moment for Canada."

"It's more than just a free trade treaty with Canada. It's a statement about how we relate with the rest of the world," said Sorin Moisa, CETA co-ordinator for the centre-left Socialists and Democrats Group, whose members have been divided over the pact.

"We want to shape rather than withdraw from the world, and all the more so after Trump," he told Reuters in an interview.

When it comes to trade, we're choosing Trudeau over Trump. - David Martin, member of European Parliament

CETA still needs approval from the European Parliament to enter into force and lawmakers in its international trade committee voted 25-15 urging it to do so. The full parliament is due to give its verdict in mid-February.

In a debate on Monday, committee members backing the accord repeatedly warned of the threat of greater protectionism under Trump, who has withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told lawmakers Canada was a welcome partner in uncertain and difficult times.

"We have an important friend and ally who seems to be at least partly disengaging from the international scene, promoting less trade, more protectionism," she said of the United States.

David Martin, a Scottish Labour member of the European Parliament, issued a press release declaring that "when it comes to trade, we're choosing Trudeau over Trump."

"We rejected protectionism," he said in an interview with CBC News. "We have a different view of how we handle globalization.

"We have criticisms - and frankly, some of our criticisms are exactly the same as President Trump. But we've come to a completely opposite conclusion," Martin said.

Martin said now is a good time for the EU to now refocus on negotiating equally progressive bilateral deals with countries previously hoping to make economic gains through the Trans-Pacific Partnership, something Trump spiked by executive order on Monday.

"At a time when your southern neighbour is turning inwards, both Canada and the EU continue to look outwards and treat each other as vital and important partners in the global world and I think that's got to be positive," Martin said.

International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne's office welcomed this "important step," telling CBC News in a statement that his top priority is ensuring CETA enters into force as soon as possible.

"CETA will also provide a strong foundation for Canada and the EU to demonstrate leadership on an inclusive, progressive approach to global trade," the statement said.

Provisional application within months?

The EU and Canada concluded negotiations more than two years ago and eventually signed the treaty in October, but only after opposition from a region of Belgium.

Even if the 751-seat European Parliament votes for CETA, it would only enter force provisionally. But this provisional application is expected to bring well over 90 per cent of the deal into force, possibly within months.

Canada must pass Bill C-30, its implementation bill, and change some provincial legislation before provisional application can take effect.

All but one of the EU's 28 member states are expected to hold ratification votes and, in some cases, referendums in their respective jurisdictions before the deal is completely implemented. This process may take years.

Controversial reforms to the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses, other investment protection provisions, parts of the financial services chapter on portfolio investments and a few clauses that touch on criminal law (member state jurisdiction) will wait for full ratification.

But most of what affects Canadian businesses and jobs - market access provisions, tariff cuts (both immediate and phased-in) and government procurement rules - will come into force provisionally.

CETA and the larger planned EU-U.S. Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have proved contentious, drawing criticism from trade unions and protest groups that say it will give more power to multinationals and lead to a race to the bottom in standards.

TTIP's future is in doubt now, given the lack of enthusiasm of the new Trump administration for broad-ranging trade negotiations.

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'Choosing Trudeau over Trump': Trade committee clears way for final CETA vote in Brussels | CBC News

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A planned EU-Canada free trade deal moved closer to reality on Tuesday after a key committee advised the European Parliament to give its backing after months of protests and heated debate. The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is seen as a test of Europe's ability to forge future trade accords and as a counterweight to anticipated protectionism under new U.S.

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Video #3 - What Happens if President Trump Makes Changes to NAFTA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG0LBtw3KPI

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Video #3 - What Happens if President Trump Makes Changes to NAFTA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG0LBtw3KPI

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I chose to showcase this video because one of the current worries on the mind of those in Canada and Mexico is that Donald Trump wishes to get rid of NAFTA.  It is important to know what his ideas are for changes to the agreement.

Video Summary:
Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of NAFTA because he claims that it hurts american workers and tilts the playing field against the American economy. As President Tump plans to scrap or negotiate the agreement. Right now they are looking to renegotiate the agreement saying they want to tighten the "rules of origin", they want to change dispute resolution rules and Mexico's value added tax. If he does not get his changes President Trump could withdraw from the agreement.

What I found useful:
It is good to know what President Trump wishes to change about the agreement and his point of view. All too often we just see issues from one perspective and it is interesting to see them from the other side.

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What Happens if President Trump Makes Changes to Nafta?

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President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement shortly after his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto was called off. So what happens if the U.S. renegotiates or withdraws from Nafta? WSJ's Shelby Holliday reports. Photo: Getty.

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Image #3 - Canada's Trade Agreements - 2006 vs 2015 https://twitter.com/prairiestcs/status/718101072800301060

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Image #3 - Canada's Trade Agreements - 2006 vs 2015 https://twitter.com/prairiestcs/status/718101072800301060

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This image shows all the different countries that Canada has created trade agreements with. I believe that it shows that Canada values trade agreements and as a country it is important that trade is made easier by lower taxes and tariffs.

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Website #3 - Provinces poised to sign historic Canada Free Trade Agreement in April - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/canadian-free-trade-agreement-1.4048026

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Website #3 - Provinces poised to sign historic Canada Free Trade Agreement in April - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/canadian-free-trade-agreement-1.4048026

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I chose this article to show that free trade agreements happen not only between countries but also within countries.

The Canadian provinces and territories are expected to sign a free trade agreement in April that will change the way that goods are traded between them. It will help to create more jobs for Canadians across the country. Under this new trade deal provinces will list only items that they want excluded from the deal, giving governments the ability to protect vulnerable areas of their economy.

I thought it was interesting that they mentioned that it will help small businesses to take business across the country and bit on jobs from coast to coast.

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Canadian territories and provinces are expected to sign a free trade deal in April that will change the way goods and services are exchanged across the country.

"It's the biggest step forward in removing barriers to internal trade in our country in the history of Canada," Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said Thursday.

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement was largely negotiated during a first ministers meeting in Whitehorse in July.

Brad Duguid, Ontario's economic development minister, said the accord is good news for Canada.

"It will be the most ambitious free trade agreement this country has ever had," he said in an interview with Power and Politics host Rosemary Barton. "It's going to create more jobs for all Canadians, in Ontario and right across the country."

New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant said the deal is "very close" to being made and all provinces want to see it signed.

"Any time that we can reduce trade barriers within Canada and around the world that is good for the New Brunswick economy, so we are very keen on this," Gallant said.

That provinces had achieved the deal was supposed to be a "surprise," Pallister said, but ended up being made public in an order in council dated March 22 giving Manitoba's premier and trade minister approval to sign on to the accord.

'A massive change'

The new trade deal is set to replace the Agreement on Internal Trade which came into effect in 1995.

The biggest change, from Pallister's point of view, is the new agreement's negative list approach.

The existing Agreement on Internal Trade requires provinces and territories to list all the goods and services which they allow to be traded.

Under the new trade deal, provinces will only list items they want excluded from the deal - giving governments the ability to protect vulnerable areas of their economy or underdeveloped regions such as northern communities while setting open trade as the default position.

"That's a massive change," said Pallister of the new negative list approach. "It will fundamentally change the way we do trade."

Premiers used the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, a trade accord that harmonizes regulations and enables labour mobility between Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, as a template for the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, Pallister said.

Barriers get in the way, premier says

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement is set to impact virtually everything from people's ability to work in different provinces, to how small businesses bid on job opportunities, to the liberalization of cross-border beer and wine sales.

For example, an architecture firm in Winnipeg will be able to bid on a project outside the province under the agreement, tapping into growing markets in other parts of the country, said Pallister.

A new online portal will give small businesses the ability to see requests for proposals from across Canada and bid on jobs from coast to coast to coast.

The accord also sets up a mechanism for resolving trade disputes between provinces and makes it easier for workers to take jobs in other provinces, said Pallister.

Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said a "patchwork" system of regulations across Canada means that many skilled labourers have trouble leaving the jurisdiction where they are first certified.

"If you're a licensed hairdresser in Manitoba you just can't pick up and move to Saskatchewan and set up shop. There are so many different rules," he said.

As with all trade deals, there will be areas of the economy that benefit and others that take a hit, but overall this is good for Canada, Remillard said.

"This is critically important to our national economy."

The trade agreement will also set a course to allow the trade of beer, wine and spirit between provinces.

Details about how the agreement impacts different economic sectors will be released in April when the trade agreement is announced.

In June, a senate report said internal trade barriers cost the Canadian economy $50 billion to $130 billion every year.

Regulation disparities force truck drivers to change tires after crossing provincial borders, the Senate found, and prevent, among other things, award-winning unpasteurized Quebec cheeses from being sold outside la belle province.

One of the Senate's recommendations was to establish a negative list approach to trade, as outlined in the upcoming agreement.

Some of Canada's international trade agreements make it easier for companies to do business in foreign countries than in provinces just a few hundred kilometres away, the report found.

Steve Verheul, Canada's chief negotiator on Canada-Europe trade deal, said while he was not part of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement talks, he believes the accord makes the playing field more even.

"I have been told that [CFTA] did successfully remove most of those inequities but we'd have to verify that from someone who was actually involved in those negotiations," said Verheul.

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Provinces poised to sign historic Canadian Free Trade Agreement in April | CBC News

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Canadian territories and provinces are expected to sign a free trade deal in April that will change the way goods and services are exchanged across the country. "It's the biggest step forward in removing barriers to internal trade in our country in the history of Canada," Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said Thursday.