Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
It's good to be back. I will make a brief statement, and then my officials and I will be happy to take questions.
As you'll recall, when I was here last March I conveyed to you my impression that Canada was falling behind the competition in terms of our international trade agenda, market access, investment attraction, and international partnerships. I also indicated that when you recognize that Canada is a small trading economy, that presents very serious issues and problems, because our wealth creation, our social programs, our ability to keep people employed in high-quality opportunities depend on trade and our being competitive in trade.
Over the last year, I think it's fair to say, we've begun to turn that around. We are also making, I think, some serious progress toward strengthening the competitive foundation of the Canadian economy.
Your committee issued a report earlier this year, and I congratulate you on that report. I think it was excellent. It restored my faith in the system. I can say that much of what we have been doing over the last year is very much in line with the recommendations contained in that report.
Domestically as well, we are shaping policies, whether it's tax policies, fiscal policies, regulations, or other government policies, to enhance Canada's competitiveness and our ability to attract foreign investment. We announced a tax reduction plan that by 2011 will give Canada the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment among the major industrial economies.
On the infrastructure side, we've announced a program of $33 billion that will be fundamentally focused on economic infrastructure and supporting Canada's capacity to grow and sustain growth over the long haul.
In that $33 billion is of course $1 billion that will be focused on the Asia–Pacific gateway and corridor initiative. That is more than just a transportation system. It's a critically important part of our trade policy and our trade strategy going forward. As I've said many times, trade strategy is about much more than tariffs these days. It's about a whole range of issues that affect our ability to compete in global supply chains and networks.
Similarly, on the east coast we're working closely with provincial governments in Atlantic Canada to build on that region's many transportation assets, such as the port of Halifax, to create an efficient and attractive Atlantic hub for the whole northeast coast of North America.
These moves are attracting very significant global attention and global investment. Earlier this year I was in China and Hong Kong, and a great deal of interest in what we are doing was expressed by the Chinese and by people in the transportation and logistics business in Hong Kong. I was in the Middle East a week or two ago and got very much the same reaction. Last year Dubai Ports World acquired the Centerm marine terminal in Vancouver, which was part of its acquisition of P & O Ports' worldwide network of marine shipping facilities.
So clearly the world is paying attention to what we're doing inside our borders. The strategy of making Canada a gateway to all of North America I think is gaining traction and it's going to be a critical part of our trade and competitiveness strategy.
But just as we're encouraging the world to reach out to Canada, we also recognize the need for Canada to reach out to the world and become more active in global commerce. We're implementing a global commerce strategy that will provide a strategic, focused approach to market development and services to business. The budget committed $60 million over two years and $50 million per year ongoing to implement that strategy.
On the trade policy side, the World Trade Organization remains the foundation of our approach. We're an active and committed member of the World Trade Organization, and we will be continuing to push hard for an ambitious outcome in the Doha negotiations. Intensified efforts are anticipated in the coming months, and with new agriculture and market access text from the chair expected in late January or early February, we're going to have a lot of work to do early in the new year.
We continue to work hard at pursuing both our defensive and our offensive interests in those negotiations. That's why I'm so deeply concerned by a recent turn of events in the rules negotiations. In the release of the chair's text, we found a proposal to reinstate a method of applying anti-dumping duties that's called “zeroing”, which had been struck down already by the appellate body of the WTO. This is unacceptable to Canada, and we will continue to raise our concerns on this front.
As we pursue our multilateral goals, we also recognize the need to move forward bilaterally and regionally. For example, we're strengthening our most important relationship with our friends, partners, and allies in the United States. We are very concerned about border issues between us and the United States, and we continue to advocate aggressively to ensure that our goods and people are able to flow efficiently across our border.
We're also working closely with both the U.S. and Mexico to ensure that the North American partnership remains strong and prosperous. There, we're cooperating to avoid duplication in regulations and standards, and to find ways for our sectors to cooperate more effectively across the border. Canada has benefited greatly from being a partner in NAFTA, and we must continue working closely with our neighbours to give our businesses the freedom and the tools they need to compete securely and predictably in today's global, competitive environment.
As you know, the Prime Minister has also taken steps to ensure that our focus here in the Americas doesn't end with Mexico. We see the hemisphere as our neighbourhood. The Prime Minister is leading our engagement with the countries of the Americas with a strong focus on creating prosperity, improving our collective security, and promoting our fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law.
Building on NAFTA's success and our free trade agreements with Chile and Costa Rica, we're actively looking to strengthen and expand our commercial links in the region. As you know, we're negotiating free trade agreements with the Dominican Republic, Peru, Colombia, the Caribbean community, and the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. We recognize the importance of these markets and the new and exciting opportunities that enhanced commercial ties would offer to our respective citizens, but we also know the importance of trade and investment as the most effective way of combating poverty, crime, and disease in some of these countries.
Looking more specifically at Colombia, the government strongly believes that beyond the commercial potential for Canada, a free trade agreement with Colombia would contribute to stabilizing that country further by helping to create the conditions of prosperity, such as employment opportunities and stronger international trade and investment links.
Moving on to Europe, at the Canada–EU summit in June, leaders agreed to launch a comprehensive study on the benefits of a closer economic partnership. Canada hopes that study will lead to a more ambitious commercial partnership with the European Union. This year saw the conclusion of negotiations of our first free trade agreement since 2001 with members of the European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. This is Canada's first free trade agreement in six years, and our first free trade agreement with European countries. I hope we'll be in a position to sign the final text of this agreement early in the new year, and to submit it for parliamentary approval shortly thereafter.
In Asia, we're pursuing free trade negotiations with South Korea, as well as Singapore. And in the Middle East, which this committee visited earlier this year, Canada is in the process of seeking a formal negotiating mandate with a view to launching free trade negotiations with Jordan in 2008.
Boosting our level of foreign investment inward and outward is another priority. We know that investment drives trade. It's not just a matter of getting people investing in Canada, it's also a matter of ensuring that Canadian companies and investors are investing abroad and building their links to global supply chains.
To move this priority forward, this year we finalized negotiations on foreign investment protection and promotion agreements, or FIPAs, with India and Jordan, and we're currently negotiating with other countries, like China and Kuwait. Negotiations will begin in the new year with Vietnam. We announced last week that we would be exploring with Russia the possibility of upgrading the existing FIPA that we have in place with them and bring it up to a new-generation FIPA standard.
In addition, officials have been actively exploring FIPA negotiation possibilities with a range of countries in Africa, Asia, and the Asia Pacific region. I would expect there will be additional negotiations launched next year as a result of these efforts.
Air services negotiations are another important element of our approach. They help drive the human links that breathe life into any commercial relationship and create opportunities for airlines to carry business people and cargo between our markets. Canadian consumers, businesses, and air industry players benefit from increased choice, flexibility, competitive pricing, and market access that liberalized air services provide.
I'm just wrapping up, Mr. Chairman.
Building on our government's blue sky international air policy, which was launched one year ago, we've successfully negotiated new air agreements or updated existing ones with Japan, the United States, Ireland, Kuwait, Iceland, Jordan, New Zealand, and Singapore. Just last week we announced the launch of negotiations with the European Union. These negotiations are expected to result in an open skies framework between Canada and all 27 member states of the EU, replacing the bilateral agreements we currently have with 19 of those countries.
Innovation is another important part of our efforts to create a competitive Canadian economy. As you know, our government has an aggressive plan to invest in Canada's science and technology architecture, a key element under Advantage Canada. This will position Canada to find new ways to develop innovative and technologically rich commercial products on a global scale.
As part of this strategy, we're joining with jurisdictions like California and the European Union, and countries like China and India, to forge science and technology partnerships.
I cannot overemphasize that Canada represents only 2.4% of global research and development. We therefore cannot do it alone and we must partner internationally to remain globally competitive. High technology and science are key parts of Canada's future economy, and we're aggressively moving forward to accelerate research and commercialize new technologies, in partnership with nations around the world.
Clearly, Mr. Chairman, on many fronts the government is taking steps to get Canada back into the game, to create a more competitive, innovative economy at the domestic and global level. I look forward to working with this committee as we move forward.
I thank you very much, and I look forward to your questions, Mr. Chair.
