Here is my interview on CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos, 26 January 2024, commenting on the damage that Bill C-282, protecting Canada’s Supply Managment System, will do to the country’s international trade relations generally. This bill is really bad news, outrageously protectionist, showing the influence that the Canadian dairy lobby has over Canadian politicians. https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/c2854495-power-play–u-k–pauses-trade-talks-with-canada
I was interviewed on CTV morning news, 24 October 2023, about the impact of the continuing St. Lawrence Seaway strike on Canada’s international trade position. Here is the video clip of that interview: https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2792098
I was quoted in a report in the Hill Times, 15 May 2023, by Neil Moss on the recent meeting between the Canadian and Indian trade ministers in Ottawa. While there were readouts about progress toward launching Indo-Canadian free trade negotiations, given the background and the highly protectionist policies of the Indian government, my views are rather skeptical that much movement will occur – at least in the immediate future. My comments are found on page 4 of the paper: 051023_HT_1
Canada moves to regulate digital service providers. Here is a CTV report on the saber-rattling by the US government regarding Bill-C-11 (the Online Streaming Act), with my comments near the end that dismiss American arguments that the Bill somehow offends Canada’s trade obligations. The same can be said for erroneous US claims about Bill C-18, the Online News Act. Both measures simply level the playing filed between standard broadcasters and on-line streaming services. Comments on Bill C-11 CTV News
I was quoted rather extensively in a column on 11 January 2023 by Neil Moss in The Hill Times about the legal issues surrounding the Canadian government’s plans to regulate internet platforms under Bill C-11. My views are that the measures meet all requirements of the WTO Agreement and Chapter 19 of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). My comments are here, on page 4: Hill Times Comment p 4
I continued to write commentaries for various policy organizations (think-tanks) in 2021 and 2022, including the C.D. Howe Institute, the MacDonald-Laurier Institute and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Here is a link to one of my op-ed pieces in January 2023 re-published by the C.D. Howe Institute. https://t.co/WEmUlmjpTm These articles and commentaries are also found in the various posts on this web-site.
There was extensive media coverage of the impact of the 2020 US election on Canadian interests, with many comments by me at various times on what’s at stake. Here are some views of mine cited in a Canadian Press report, 28 October 2020. https://globalnews.ca/news/7426688/canada-u-s-trade-joe-biden-presidency/
It was gratifying to be listed in the 2020 edition of Chambers and Partners (U.K.) together with my talented colleagues at Cassidy Levy Kent as a global leader, a “Senior Statesperson”, the listing stating, “Lawrence Herman is a well-established and respected trade expert in Canada with a career spanning over 40 years. He has an immense wealth of experience across numerous areas, including advocacy work before the CITT and under provisions established by free trade agreements, as well as a unique knowledge of the workings of the UN and the WTO.”
I was pleased to be elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) (http://www.cgai.ca) this past summer (2020). The Institute posted my 27 October 2020 article in the Financial Post about the challenges at the WTO in restoring order to the global trading system.
Here are comments of mine reported 30 January 2020 in the Western Producer, a leading publication on the Canadian agricultural sector and farm interests. https://www.producer.com/2020/01/u-s-china-trade-deal-violates-wto-lawyer/
I was included in Who’s Who Legal 2020 as a global leader among a select number of international lawyers in this latest release of this respected publication. whoswholegal.com/thought-leader.
I was flattered that Who’s Who Legal-Canada 2019 (whoswholegal.com) listed me as number 1 among the “Most Highly Regarded” trade lawyers in the country, writing that I am a “key figure in the Canadian trade and customs space” and “renowned for his tremendous knowledge of trade agreements and expert handling of related disputes.”
I was pleased to be endorsed as a leading international trade lawyer in two leading international publications. WWL Canada 2017 referred to me as “exceptionally knowlegable”, enjoying a superb reputation in the market for “excellence in trade remedy matters” and “sophisticated representation in landmark cases.”
Who’s Who Legal, released Dec/17, lists me among Canada’s top trade lawyers and says: “boasts a stellar reputation as a dean of the practice in Canada . . ” It’s gratifying to be recognized by one’s peers.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) published the Trump administration’s objectives in the NAFTA renegotiations on 17 July 2017. I gave a number of TV interviews on the Canadian reaction to this, including one on Bloomberg TV here: http://bit.ly/2tpSqX9
Donald Trump spoke at a political rally in Wisconsin on 18 April 2017, and used the occasion to slam Canadian dairy policies, which he said were unfair to American farmers. Bloomberg TV asked for my views and my interview can be seen seen here: http://bit.ly/2pG4PRa
At the Annual Conference of the Canada-US Law Institute 30-31 March 2017, I was honoured to receive the Sidney Picker award for my contributions over 30 years to CUSLI and to better understanding, scholarship and legal expertise in Canada-US relations.
This is Lawrence Herman getting the Sidney Picker Award 31 March 2017 at the CUSLI Annual Conference dinner in Cleveland.
The Export Development Corporation interviewed me on 17 February 2017 on the NAFTA issues under automotive sector, among other subjects, facing Canada under the Trump administration. A portion of the interview is now on the EDC website here: http://bit.ly/2kTWRFv
NAFTA issues have been front and centre in the news since the election of Donald Trump as US president. Here is one of a number of interviews I’ve given on what is in store for Canada-US trade and for a possible re-writing of the NAFTA, this time on Bloomberg Canada. http://bloombergtv.ca/2017-02-17/shows/the-daily-brief/the-daily-brief-clips/canadas-trade-future/
I took part in a conference in London, UK, on Brexit, on 31 January 2017, organized by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). https://www.biicl.org/event/1232. My presentation at the conference was to explain Canada’s experience in negotiating bilateral trade agreements, since the UK had no experience in this area.
I was again listed in Who’s Who Legal’s 2016-2017 edition of the Trade & Customs Annual (published by Law Business Research, London, U.K.) as one of Canada’s leading trade and investment counsel.
The Faculty of Law at Western University, London, Ont., invited me to give the 10th Annual Canada-US Law Institute Distinguished Lecture on 14 November 2016, celebrating CUSLI’s role in promoting better understanding in bilateral legal relations. The topic I’ve chosen is International Law in a Turbulent World.
I was on BNN’s morning show 29 September 2016 commenting on Canada-US trade relations in the event of a Clinton presidency. http://bit.ly/2cEeg0y. I said that things won’t be all that rosy under a Democratic administration, given the anti-globalization and anti-free-trade sentiments in the left wing of the party and even in the mainstream, which Clinton can’t ignore. Canadians need to shed their illusions, I said.
Donald Trump and NAFTA. He threatens to tear up the agreement in one of his bombastic statements. My interview on CTV news says that its ironic that a businessman would refuse to respect the sanctity of contracts. And in any event, approving and changing trade agreements is up to the Congress. http://bit.ly/28UsFkn
More on Brexit – Interview on CBC TV “The Exchange”, 24 June 2016, in the aftermath of the surprising referendum result. http://bit.ly/28UKctj
Brexit – See my interview on Bloomberg TV, 20 June 2016, commenting on the negative consequences of a Leave result in the upcoming referendum. http://bit.ly/28Lbcy5
Also on the same subject of Brexit, another of my TV interviews, 20 June 2016, on BNN here. http://bit.ly/28IpeNC
On 6 January 2016, TransCanada Corp. filed a NAFTA notice announcing its intent to invoke binding arbitration proceedings against the United States for the refusal of President Obama to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline project. My interview on CTV News here: http://on.fb.me/1mFI7qa
The 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada has included me (as in previous editions) for my work in International Trade and Finance Law. This is a selection by peers. It is gratifying to have been included on the list once again.
I was also pleased to be named again as one of Canada’s leading international trade/WTO counsel in the 2016 edition of Chambers and Partners Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The publication listed me as a “senior statesman” and “at the top of the game.”
See my CTV interview 6 August 2015 with Don Martin on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and prospects of a deal for Canada here.
I was appointed Chairman of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s Advisory Committee in July 2015. The Committee has been formed by the Tribunal to provide stakeholder advice on the Tribunal’s operations and procedures. Click here
To see my 15 April 2015 CTV national news interview on Mr. Harper’s attendance at the Summit of the Americas and the drama surrounding the Obama-Castro meeting and the US-Cuba relationship, click here
Buy America and What it Means for Canadian businesses. See my Interview on recent developments in the US with Amanda Lang on CBC, The Exchange, 6 February 2015. click here
I was re-appointed as a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute in September 2014. To see the notice, click here.
To see my comment on Canada’s internal trade barriers in the Wall Street Journal on-line on August 20, 2014, click here.
The Globe and Mail carried an on-ed piece of mine on August 8, 2014, dealing with the Ukraine crisis and the Russian counter-measures, applying import restrictions on a range of Canadian products in retaliation for Canada’s own sanctions. My view is that Russian measures are contrary to the WTO Agreement and should be recognized as another example of Russia flouting international law. To read my piece, click here.
Barrie McKenna quoted me in a story in the Report on Business on 4 August 2014 about the US targeting Canada’s supply management system for dairy products in the Transpacific Trade Negotiations. As I said in my comments, Canada’s refusal so far to put supply management on the table in these talks is untenable, weakening our negotiating position in other areas.
My appointment to the Advisory Committee of the International Law Research Program at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), based in Waterloo, Ontario, was announced on 31 July 2014. For the CIGI press release and information on the Program and my appointment, see: http://www.cigionline.org/articles/cigi-launches-advisory-committee-international-law-research-program-appointment-of-five-exp
There was a lot of media flurry over the reported German government rejection of binding investor-State arbitration in the impending Canada-EU trade deal. See my full interview with Amanda Lang on the Lang & O’Leary Exchange, CBC Newsworld, on July 28, 2014. http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/Lang+%26+O%27Leary+Exchange/ID/2478539238/
I was also quoted in a lead story and later in an editorial in the Globe and Mail (Toronto) on 28 July 2014 about the German opposition to binding arbitration in the agreement. See the editorial The Canada-EU Trade Deal is Very Much Alive and the earlier report in the Globe, Canada and EU may have to return to the bargaining table, experts suggest, 26 July 2014.
For my op-ed piece in the Financial Post on this subject on 28 July 2014 just click here: German Concerns Won’t Kill EU Pact.
I was also quoted in a lead piece in the Toronto National Post the same day on this subject Germany plays down report that Canada-EU free trade deal in jeopardy.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) carried an op-ed piece of mine on its on-line edition, 29 April 2014, entitled “Is US violating NAFTA with Keystone Delay?”
As well, in 2014, I was appointed to the National Council of the C.D. Howe Institute, Toronto in 2014. The Institute is a leading independent think-tank with a major influence in setting Canada’s public policy agenda on a such matters as fiscal and tax policy, social policy, pensions, international trade, governance and a range of other key issues facing Canada at both the national and sub-national levels. I had been appointed in 2012 as a Senior Fellow of the Institute.
On February 27, 2014, I spoke at a conference of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) entitled “Go Global”. The conference dealt with the business opportunities for Canadian companies in international markets, beyond the US market. I spoke about the benefits to be expected for exporters of goods and services – and investments – under the Canada-Europe Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that is currently being finalized and may enter into force before the end of 2014.
On February 25, 2014, the Financial Post carried an op-ed piece of mine, posted on this Blog, about the rear-guard action being fought by Ford Motor Company of Canada against the conclusion of a trade agreement with South Korea. As you see from the piece, I disagree with Ford on this and think that a deal with Korea carries many benefits for Canadian exporters. As I say, an agreement with Korea is about much more than cars and trucks. Big Three Stall Canada-Korea Trade Deal at http://opinion.financialpost.com/2014/02/25/canada-korea-free-trade/
My analysis of the present state of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations was published as an op-ed piece in the Financial Post on 10 January 2014 and can be found at: http://opinion.financialpost.com/2014/01/10/darkening-clouds-threaten-trans-pacific-partnership-deal/
I was again listed in the Lexpert® Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Litigation Lawyers in Canada (2013 edition). This publication is based on an annual peer review survey, determining leaders in Canadian law who have excelled in significant cross-border litigation practices – in my case, in international trade cases.
“Who’s Who Legal”, the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, a publication sponsored by the International Bar Association, once again listed me as one of the top Canadian and international lawyers in its 2013 edition. I have been continually listed in this publication for many years.
I spoke at a Conference organized by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (25 October 2013) on the implications of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). To see the report of my comments, click here. The Conference was well-attended and the Chamber held a second session at PWC headquarters in Toronto, where I again made a presention on the treaty and its advantages for Canada.
To see my October 13th interview on the Lang & O’Leary Exchange, CBC Newsworld, click here.