Asian bloc hopes new deal with Canada could lead to free trade pact
Embassy, May 16th, 2007
Asian Bloc Hopes New Deal with Canada Could Lead to Free Trade Pact
Vietnam’s assistant foreign minister blames low trade between Canada and the ASEAN nations on high level of trade with the United States.
By Brian Adeba
Vietnam’s assistant foreign affairs minister says Canada and members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are "optimistic" about a free trade agreement, but Nguyen Trung Thanh doesn’t want to speculate as to when such a deal would come to fruition.
Mr. Thanh, who is also his country’s co-ordinator for ASEAN, said that a trade and investment co-operation agreement is currently being negotiated, and that such a pact could lead to a future free trade deal.
With a population of 500 million and a trade figure of $850 billion (US) a year, the 10-member ASEAN group represents a huge market. Yet trade between the ASEAN bloc and Canada remains minimal, much to the frustration of certain member nations, Mr. Tranh says.
Embassy caught up with Mr. Thanh last week in Ottawa to shed light on the trade issues. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation
On the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-Canada relations, what are some of the issues that bind both entities in terms of trade?
This is a very important dialogue. This year is also important because we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the partnership. In this meeting we recognize and underline the importance of the partnership, which has been very successful in the past 30 years, but now we see a great potential in opportunities to expand it in the future. We see a vitality to broaden it in trade and investment, science and technology. At the same time we go into other areas of co-operation, including combating terrorism, in working and co-ordinating in international institutions.
When we talk about trade, ASEAN is a huge bloc, yet trade ties with Canada are minimal. What can be done to improve trade ties?
I think the concern is fair because Canada is a trillion dollar economy and the trade [with ASEAN] is very modest, only $12-13 billion (US) a year. Having realized that, we also realized the huge potential of both sides to work together. Hopefully in two years we can double it if we, as governments, can promote and put in place facilities to promote interaction and businesses between the two sides. We can create environments where wise business decisions can be made to promote trade between the two sides. We are in the middle of negotiating a trade and investment co-operation agreement with Canada and hopefully we will leap off into an eventual free trade arrangement between the two sides. That would be a major accomplishment that will continue to solidify the foundation of the growing and fast developing partnership between ASEAN and Canada.
What are some of the specific issues that hinder trade between the ASEAN bloc and Canada?
There are many ways to look at the problems that hold things back. Look at the pattern of trade between Canada and its major partners. Ninety or 80 per cent of its trade and investment is across the border [with the United States]. I give you one example -with the case of Japan, which is one of the top trading powers of the world, and only two per cent of Canada’s trade is with Japan. So if you ask the Canadian or Japanese businesses whether they are happy with the state of trading relations between both sides, I think the answer is not yet. In ASEAN, if you ask us whether we are happy, we say no.
In Canada, there is concern about the state of human rights in certain countries in the ASEAN bloc, for example Burma. To what extent is that impeding trade between both entities?
We must put our concerns in a bigger picture. If there is a concern, if we are mature enough at the age of 30, if we have any differences in interests or approach, we can dialogue. The dialogue has to be based on mutual respect and understanding, it must be respectful and based on non-interference. We must sit down and talk about it in a mutually engaging manner. We must not allow any single concern to obscure the wider horizon of opportunities of strengthening the partnership between both sides. That is the prevailing picture which I have seen in the meeting.
How soon do you think ASEAN can reach a free trade agreement with Canada?
I am not an economics official, I am from foreign affairs. I don’t want to give an affirmative answer on behalf of my economic officials, but I can say we [ASEAN and Canada] have the same aspirations. We look to the future, we are optimistic and realistic. We want to put down a deliverable work plan to broaden and deepen our partnership, with economic and trade-based opportunities in the future.
brian@embassymag.ca
