Category Archives: Trade Policy

Business Engagement is Vital

ROB – Trade & Canadian BusinessROB – Trade & Canadian Business

Dealing with China-How Canada Dropped the Ball

Canada’s Inept Foreign Policy

China and the Global EV Challenge

This opinion piece the The Globe and Mail (Toronto, 30 January 2024) discusses the ongoing trade war between China and the West, as massively subsidized Chinese EVs, batteries and other automotive components enter the global marketplace. With trade restrictions against Chinese EVs in the US and a trade action just starting in the EU, this… Read More »

NATO, Defense and Canadian Well-Being

This is an op-ed (14 February 2024) that explains how Canada’s poor record in meeting NATO defense expenditure obligations – and other commitments to its allies – weakens the country’s geopolitical influence and its ability to resolve economic, commercial and trade matters, ultimately impacting on the well-being of Canadians generally. It’s a call for changes… Read More »

WTO – Challenges in the Multilateral Trading Order

Seismic Shifts in Global Trade-Inside Policy

More Protectionism is Poor Trade Policy

Supply Management – A Disaster for Canada

Recent Developments in Canada’s Trade Law Regime

In this short commentary, I describe some notable developments in Canada’s trade remedy system, heralding what seems to be a more agressive approach by the Federal government in dealing with imported goods, with China being in the focus. Trade Remedy Update-CD Howe Memo 11 May 2023

A Comment on the WTO’s Future – C.D. Howe Institute

The World Trade Organization is facing serious challenges. Its negotiating functions are paralyzed by disagreements among member governments. The dispute settlement process is dysfunctional as well. Institutional reform of the Organization is long overdue. Given these problems, what is the realistic future of the WTO? Here are some practical suggestions. The WTO & Some Future… Read More »

Green Subsidies & Trade Wars – Commentary

One of the serious shortcomings of the global trading order – as represented by the WTO & its multilateral rules-based system – is that it is based on a commercial world that no longer exists. The rules are not adequate to deal with modern trade challenges, particularly climate change & decarboniztion. This short piece suggests… Read More »

World of Trade in 2023

In January 2023, I wrote an opinion piece for the Globe and Mail (Toronto) about the coming year’s prospects for the multilateral trading system, giving all the problems confronting the WTO. The piece outlines, in brief fashion, some themes for the year to come. Globe and Mail – Challenges for Global Trade in 2023