An Economy In Trouble? Why the Canada and EU Trade Talks are Important

"Canadian exports to the United States, as a percentage of the total, have dropped to 76% from a record high of 90% earlier this decade. As we move to a world where power is more diffuse and regional alliances assume increasing importance, strengthening relationships with not just our continental partners, but also our transatlantic and Asian partners, will be essential to Canada’s future prosperity." In the above excerpt from an October 27th, 2009 Financial Post article titled "Trade with Europe, India path to riches" by today's guest by Jason Langrish, the Executive Director of the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business clearly and precisely sums up both the opportunities and the challenges our economy faces in an increasingly globalized market. While there are the pre-requisite concerns on both sides of the negotiation table including the fear on the part of the EU that the existing NAFTA agreement to which Canada is a part will open the door to an influx of cheap products and thereby irreparably harm their domestic SME market,ultimately the benefits of reaching an accord is underlined by an already strong economic relationship which according to Langrish "amounts to close to half a trillion dollars" in bilateral trade and investment. With negotiations scheduled to resume in October, we felt that this was the perfect time to really examine what these important trade talks involve, and actually mean to Canada, it's economy and ultimately everyday people.