VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canada has agreed to a revised Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal that excludes the US.
"We are happy to confirm the achievement of a significant outcome on culture as well as an improved arrangement on autos with Japan, along with the suspension of many intellectual property provisions of concern to Canadian stakeholders," said International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in a statement.
Asia-Pacific countries, including Australia and New Zealand, over the weekend agreed to revive the free trade deal, despite a January decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the TPP. The original TPP, which took more than five years to negotiate, covered about 40% of global gross domestic product (GDP).
Renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) voiced strong support for the important trade agreement between the 11 committed partners.
"Canada is a trading nation, our economy fundamentally buttressed by access to global markets. We strongly support Canada's participation in the CPTPP, and we are hopeful that the deal is signed in the near future," said MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton in a statement.
The members of the CPTPP represent 494-million people, with a combined GDP of more than $10-trillion, or 13% of global GDP. In recent years, Canada's exports of metals and minerals to CPTPP countries have been significant.
Japan is Canadian mining's fourth-largest export market, with total values exceeding C$3.4-billion in 2015. Through the reduction of tariffs, operators in Canada stand to gain significantly with TPP partners. For example, Japan currently applies tariffs on mineral and metal products of up to 7.9%, Vietnam up to 40%, Malaysia up to 50%, Australia up to 5%, New Zealand up to 10%, and Brunei up to 20%.
Extending beyond tariff elimination and reduction, the negotiations also address numerous challenges that companies currently face in getting products, people and services across borders on a day-to-day basis. As one of Canada's largest outward investing sectors, benefiting from the greater certainty, transparency and foreign investment protection that the CPTPP will enable is important for the mining industry to remain competitive on the global stage, the MAC noted.
"The rest of the world continues to look to Canada as a leader when it comes to mining. Part of maintaining that global leadership is ensuring that Canada's mining and supply sectors have access to modern and comprehensive trade and investment vehicles to meet the world where it does business," said Gratton.