00:00Welcome back. Closer ties with the European Union would not provide Canada an immediate solution to its trade difficulties with
00:07Washington, says trade policy expert Carlo Deit.
00:10The University of Calgary's Director of International Policy says the European Commission's proposal to make Canada an associate member of
00:19the bloc requires a longer-term strategy that goes beyond the current dispute.
00:24In the short term, Europe is not the solution for Canada's productivity problems. It's not the solution for Canada's need
00:34to export commodities.
00:36Exporting agriculture to Europe is almost as difficult as exporting agricultural goods to China, especially durum wheat, beef.
00:46We've had a number of issues with the EU. Also, I think eight or ten EU countries still haven't signed
00:54our free trade agreement.
00:55So Europe is no panacea. But that's thinking tactically.
01:01European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed making Canada the EU's first associate member.
01:07Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the move, while US President Donald Trump dismissed it as laughable and threatened heavy
01:14tariffs against Europe.
01:15Looking beyond the immediate reaction, Deit sees a longer-term opportunity for Canada to help connect Europe with the Comprehensive
01:23and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.
01:28I think longer term, I think the play here is for Canada to serve as a bridge between Europe and
01:36the CPTPP.
01:37There's been talk about Europe trying to join the CPTPP. In normal times, that would be a ridiculous idea. Too
01:48difficult. Too many governments. Too many differences.
01:51But in the current environment of China on one side, the persistent threat of China and its attempts to reorder
02:01global trade and new persistent threat from the US.
02:07We've gone from Trump one to Trump two. The powers that Trump has used to influence trade haven't changed.
02:14They remain. They've not been challenged by Congress, and there's no appearance that Congress will challenge those powers.
02:23So if we face a long-term threat in Asia and in Europe, maybe it's time for us to think
02:31about the impossible.
02:33Desperate times call for desperate measures.
02:36The CPTPP is a free trade agreement covering 12 economies, including Malaysia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.
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