Globalization and Canadian Industry

Paper Summary:

This paper argues the thesis that the supraconstitutions of NAFTA and the WTO have not rescued Canada from a power-based trade system. It makes reference to the softwood lumber trade dispute between Canada and the United States, showing that the power of the United States is such that the mechanisms of international trade regulation and dispute settlement largely favour the US position. In the case of NAFTA, this situation is shown to be particularly disadvantageous from the Canadian perspective given the asymmetric power differentials between the United States and Canada Mexico.

From the Paper:

"In 1987 Canada entered into the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA), which later grew into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. Canada's overriding reason for entering these accords was to establish a trade dispute settling system that would efficiently and justly regulate trade between the two countries. Canada's participation in these agreements - as later in its participation in the WTO - grew out of the view that as a mid-sized power Canada is better off in a "rules-based" trade system with strong dispute settlement mechanisms than in a "power based" trade system."

More papers on Globalization and Canadian Industry:

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• Essay # 90860 : "Globalization and the Canadian Labour Market"

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