Experts push ASEAN-Canada trade coalitions

AWANI

APF Canada urges ASEAN to boost trade ties with Canada, calling on middle powers to lead mini-lateral cooperation in areas like digital trade amid global rivalries.

Transcript

00:00Experts are urging ASEAN nations to deepen trade ties with Canada.

00:05They say middle powers must act decisively as U.S.-China rivalry intensifies.

00:11Jeff Nankivell, president and CEO of the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada,

00:17calls this a crucial moment for non-superpowers to strengthen cooperation.

00:21And this is something where we find we have a substantial set of shared values

00:31around the importance of a rules-based international trading order.

00:38And so I think in practical terms, where there's the greatest need,

00:44but happily there's also great potential,

00:47is we have, for example, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, CPTPP, agreement.

00:55Four of the ASEAN members, including Malaysia, are members.

01:00Canada is a founding member.

01:05And this is probably the highest quality, large-scale trade agreement

01:11in recent years that's available.

01:15And so we now have the beginning of talks between the CPTPP and the European Union.

01:25And I think with the U.K. having joined, having left the European Union,

01:29but now has become a member of CPTPP,

01:33the first one that is truly outside the region,

01:38and Canada is a Pacific country,

01:40that, I think, shows you the importance and the potential for the Europeans,

01:49the players in Southeast Asia,

01:53and countries like Canada

01:55to work together to build an international trading system

02:01that can deliver real benefits regardless of whether other powers,

02:08like, for example, the U.S., decide not to participate.

02:13On September 24, Canada signed its first bilateral trade agreement

02:17with an ASEAN member, securing a deal with Indonesia.

02:21Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed Ottawa's intention

02:25to pursue a broader multilateral trade deal with ASEAN to expand market access.

02:31Meanwhile, Barrett Bingley, Regional Director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada,

02:36said ASEAN and Canada should prioritize smaller targeted initiatives.

02:40He argued these minilateral efforts are more practical than ambitious WTO reforms

02:46or attempts to revive the long-stalled free trade area of the Asia-Pacific.

02:50This is where I think the ideas around mini-laterals

02:55and ideas in trade policy around coalitions of the willing

02:59are going to become so important,

03:02and ASEAN and Canada are natural partners on this.

03:06Rather than trying to fix the entire WTO

03:10or create the idea of the FTAP,

03:14which was popular some years ago in APEC,

03:17you have to find areas where ASEAN and Canada want to work together,

03:23whether that's digital trade or e-commerce

03:25or green transition regulations and aspirations.

03:31Create working groups, create a path to success,

03:36measure that, and make sure that implementation is done.

03:39We've certainly been hearing today during the conference

03:42that implementation of agreements, usage of agreements

03:45can be just as important as getting them signed.

03:48So first create the structures,

03:50but then make sure that you use them and you measure the success.

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