[asia-apec 1815] Singapore free-trade talks planned

[Aaron James]

Globe and Mail

Singapore free-trade talks planned
By CAMPBELL CLARK


Monday, October 22, 2001 – Print Edition, Page B1


SHANGHAI -- Canada plans to launch free-trade talks with Singapore in a bid 
to both increase modest trade levels and set up a stepping stone to future 
trade deals in Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and his Singaporean counterpart, Goh Chok 
Tong, announced the talks yesterday after a one-on-one meeting at the 
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Shanghai, finally pushing 
ahead after agreeing to explore the idea of a free-trade agreement more 
than a year ago.

"Mr. Goh and I have been discussing that for some time, and now everybody 
agreed that it would be possible, and it is advantageous," Mr. Chrétien said.

A senior Canadian official said the trade agreement is seen not only as a 
way to open further trade ties with Singapore but also as a first step 
toward future trade agreements with other Southeast Asian nations.

The deal will provide experience in negotiating a trade deal in the region, 
where Singapore is already involved in trade arrangements, he said.

Despite International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew's announcement in 
June, 2000, that the two countries would explore the possibility of a deal, 
there were questions over whether the relatively small amount of trade 
between the two countries would justify concluding such an arrangement, the 
official said.

It was decided that the opening to Asia, and the possibility of opening 
trade and investment particularly in service sectors such as financial 
services, was worth the challenge, the official said. Singapore has bars to 
foreign ownership in some service sectors, he noted.

Canada exported $369-million in goods and services to Singapore in 2000, 
and imports from Singapore were $1.4-billion, making it Canada's 
29th-largest trading partner.

In its small way, the announcement also echoed a key concern raised by APEC 
leaders at their summit in Shanghai.

The concern is that they must send a free-trading signal at a time when 
economic confidence is shaken.

Most Asian economies were already ailing before the Sept. 11 terrorist 
attacks in the United States, but the expected decline in U.S. demand has 
caused United Nations economists to adjust their predicted economic growth 
rates this year downward by about two percentage points.

The APEC leaders expressed strong support for the launch of a new round of 
global trade talks under the World Trade Organization.

Trade ministers from the 142 members are slated to meet in Doha, Qatar, in 
November to try to launch a new round.