On the risk of protectionism, Canadian agriculture has weathered some difficult years, with BSE, circovirus, the rise in the Canadian dollar, and an increase in input costs. All of these have challenged our competitiveness. But we now face one of the greatest threats yet: the rise in protectionist sentiments in the face of the global economic crisis. Fearing this very trend, G-20 leaders signed a pledge last November to avoid protectionist measures. In a report released last week, the World Bank reported that since the beginning of the global financial crisis, countries, including 17 G-20 members, have implemented 47 protectionist trade measures. Another 19 measures have been proposed but are not yet implemented.
This trend extends beyond agriculture and is worrisome. The World Bank has cautioned that as the global recession continues there is every risk that countries will begin to raise tariffs to bound levels or utilize unused subsidy room to help support their domestic industries.
Now is not the time for countries to close their borders. If our trade opportunities contract, so will our industries, our jobs, and our economy. Trade must be part of the solution. The WTO, the World Bank, and G-20 leaders have all underscored the importance of pressing forward with the WTO's work. It is essential that Canada continue to support the WTO Doha negotiations as well.
Without a trade agreement, the future competitiveness of Canada's agriculture industry is at stake. Canada will be increasingly disadvantaged in international markets as countries use existing rules to maintain export subsidies, further support domestic producers, and use the flexibilities in existing rules to protect markets from competitive imports from countries like Canada.
Finally l'd like to comment on the Canada-EU trade agreement. Since its inception in 2001, Canada's main focus has been the multilateral trade agreement being negotiated under the WTO. Perhaps it's not surprising, given the slow pace of multilateral negotiations, that there has recently been an increased emphasis on bilateral trade agreements.
There are many reasons to prefer a multilateral trade deal. CAFTA supports high-quality, comprehensive bilateral trade agreements. In particular, we support and encourage the federal government to continue discussions toward a free trade agreement with the EU. But we stress that to be effective any agreement needs to be comprehensive. In that spirit we encourage the government to adopt a broad negotiating mandate for all agriculture products and ensure that nothing is excluded at the start of the negotiations.
Mr. Chair, we thank you again for this opportunity and we look forward to answering your questions.