Free trade with India pitched
The ChronicleHerald, Halifax
Free trade with India pitched
Agreement would be major boost for Port of Halifax, retail shippers say
By Tom Peters, Business Reporter
19 April 2007
A free trade agreement between Canada and India would be a major boost to the Port of Halifax’s strategy to become a cargo gateway to North American markets, says the chairman of the Canadian Retail Shippers Association.
And supporting such an agreement that would stimulate trade, says Brian Gerrior, should be the development of a free trade zone and sufficient transload facilities to turn around marine containers for export products.
The Halifax Port Authority says India could be to Halifax what China is to Vancouver in terms of being a major trade gateway. For the past two years, the authority has been pursuing a strategy to develop more trade with India and Asia through the Suez Canal.
Mr. Gerrior, with Sears Canada, one of 12 major retailers within the shippers association, said Wednesday that association members import about 1,500 containers a year through Halifax. A free trade agreement with India would quickly double that, he said.
"When you look at 18 per cent duties on textiles coming out of India today, and if that could be reduced to zero, that would greatly stimulate a whole lot of trade," said Mr. Gerrior, who plans to lobby government to move on this initiative.
Brooke Grantham, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa, said the federal government is very interested in building its commercial relationship with India but free trade talks are something that would likely occur in the future. The only negotiations presently ongoing between the two countries deal with a foreign investment and protection agreement.
Michael Cormier, the port authority’s vice-president of business development and customer relations, said "any steps that would help facilitate the increase of two-way trade between India and Canada we see as good for the port and support our ongoing initiatives in India."
The port has several initiatives involving the Indian business community and is "broadly rallying the cause of growing trade between Canada, Halifax and India," Mr. Cormier said, noting a free trade deal would certainly be beneficial.
"We would think it would boost Canadian-Indian trade and that would certainly boost our cause," he said.
Mr. Gerrior, whose association includes such well-known retailers as Eddie Bauer, Sony and Roots, began moving imported goods through Halifax in the summer of 2005.
He estimated that 85 to 90 per cent of the imports his group brings through Halifax from India are textiles and home decorating items, "all under the 18 per cent duty, and if that could be eliminated, that would greatly stimulate the interest in India, certainly from an import perspective. Halifax to me is the logical gateway for India."
Mr. Gerrior suggested Halifax’s position would be further strengthened by having in place "some very good transload operations so (marine) containers are terminated in Halifax," thus making them quickly available for export products.
There have been shippers who have rejected Halifax as an export port because there is not a guaranteed supply of containers.
The Canadian Retail Shippers Association has an arrangement with Armour Transport through which marine containers are taken to facilities in Dartmouth and the contents unloaded, sorted and repacked in domestic containers.
Consolidated FastFrate of Woodbridge, Ont., is building a transload facility in Burnside and CN says it is also considering a similar facility.
Mr. Gerrior said if transload facilities were available on the Halifax side, at or near the port, containers could be turned around very quickly. Additional benefits of such an operation would be reduced truck traffic on the harbour bridges, which would result in reduced exhaust emissions.
"It would be a win for everybody," he said.
The association chairman said there should also be consideration given to the development of a free trade zone where imports are unloaded, possibly enhanced, and then exported, helping to develop both import and export business and create employment.
