Buy America Affecting Projects in Canada
On November 25, 2014, Minister of International, Trade Ed Fast, issued a statement raising concerns with the U.S.’ attempt to apply Buy American restrictions to a project at the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The full statement, available at http://www.international.gc.ca/media/comm/news-communiques/2014/11/25a.aspx?lang=eng, reiterates the importance of an integrated economy in North America and highlights the benefits of dismantling trade barriers and eliminating inefficiencies created by protectionist policies. Buy America provisions require that U.S. products and...
read moreExporting to Canada – Opportunities for U.S. Companies
With approximately $1 trillion in annual bilateral investment and trade, Canada offers many profitable business and/or investment opportunities for U.S. firms, and especially for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). The Canadian market is a great place to begin exporting given its geographic proximity to the U.S. and the many similarities in business culture between both countries. Despite these similarities on certain levels, the Canadian regulatory landscape is quite complex and can present new...
read moreCanada’s International Air Transport: Policy and the Reality of Agreement Negotiations – Part II
Canada’s approach to air agreement negotiations involves a search for a careful balancing of the quest for liberalization and a prudential concern for its domestic industry. The airline business is recognized globally for a kind of inherent fragility. The Canadian industry has been no exception with over 100 Canadian carriers, small and large, having gone bankrupt, closed or otherwise merged and consolidated since the dawn of Canada’s air transport industry in the 1920s. Since...
read moreInvestor-State Dispute Settlement : Value for Business
Investor Statement Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) is an arbitration process included in many international trade agreements (i.e. NAFTA’s Chapter 11). ISDS allows a foreign business or individual, who has made or is seeking to make an investment in one of the countries that is a Party to such a trade agreement (the “Host Country”), to challenge a measure adopted by the host country if the measure violates investment obligations and detrimentally affects the value of...
read moreCanada’s International Air Transport – Policy and the Reality of Agreement Negotiations – PART I
Air Transport Agreements (ATAs) are treaties signed between two countries allowing international commercial air transport services between their territories. These cover matters as diverse as overflight rights, airline designation, safety, and security, use of airports, customs, tariffs, sales and transfer of funds, ground handling and most importantly, traffic rights. The latter are the core economic rights of such treaties, which can specify the number of airlines that can serve the market, the capacity they...
read moreCETA and the Investor State Dispute Settlement Provisions : What it Really Means for Investors
Part of ongoing negotiations since 2009, an agreement in principle was finally reached on October 18, 2013 on the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Described as Canada’s most ambitious trade agreement to date, the CETA will help solidify Canada’s important economic relationship to the EU. The Canada-EU relationship is currently a high priority for the Canadian government given the EU’s position as Canada’s second largest trading partner in goods and services. Since...
read moreNew Rules of Origin Applied Under SIMA
Importers used to Canada’s rules of origin may be surprised to discover that the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has determined that those rules do not apply in anti-dumping and countervailing injury cases (SIMA cases taken under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) and Regulations) and has subsequently developed new rules of origin to apply in these cases. Because the CITT’s new rules may conflict with Canada’s other existing rules of origin, a company...
read moreJust Not COOL – North American Cattle Market and the Spirit of Free Trade
By now, those following Canada and Mexico’s ongoing campaign for fair trade in the North American cattle and beef industry will have seen that the “two amigos” have won yet another battle in the trade dispute with the United States regarding its meat-labeling regulations. On October 20, 2014, a World Trade Organization (WTO) Compliance Panel found that U.S. meat labeling regulations, as set out in its revised Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) measure, violated...
read moreThe Canada-China FIPA: What it Means for Businesses and Investors
Negotiations for a bilateral Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (“FIPA“) between Canada and China have been ongoing for over a decade. They commenced in 1994, were interrupted pending China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (“WTO“), and resumed in September 2004. After much debate and no shortage of opposition, the Canada-China FIPA (“C-C FIPA“) was signed on September 9, 2012 and officially came into force on October 1, 2014. The main purposes of...
read moreBuy America and the Integrated North American Economy
The South Park Bridge Project (the “Project“) in Morrison, Colorado has recently attracted a great deal of attention. At issue was the fact that Canadian steel was used in the reparations to the South Park Bridge. As a federally funded initiative, the use of Canadian-origin steel in the Project repairs would violate Buy America provisions. As a result, this may lead to a complete withdrawal of U.S. federal funding if the Canadian steel is...
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