Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman, committee members, thanks for the invitation to appear before the committee on international trade.
The Canadian Council of Chief Executives has a long history of support for measures to strengthen Canada's economic relationship with Japan. The negotiations toward an ambitious economic partnership agreement with Japan will deepen the bilateral relationship and complement our long-standing cultural, political, and social linkages.
We were founded in 1976, as a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization including 150 CEOs of Canada's largest enterprises. Member companies collectively administer $4.5 trillion in assets, have annual revenues of about $850 billion, and are responsible for a lot of Canada's exports, investment, research and development, and training. The council is represented by almost every sector of the Canadian economy.
CCCE's strategy for international engagement includes developing a relationship with the business community in the priority country. The organization also does its best to get the perspective of senior government officials, political leaders, think-tank heads, and other key stakeholders in order to develop an understanding of both the challenges and the opportunities with the priority country as the Government of Canada considers an EPA, an FTA, or other important treaties.
The CCCE worked closely with Keizai Doyukai, which is essentially our sister organization in Japan, to support the launch of negotiations towards an ambitious EPA.
Chair Merrifield, I have provided copies of a joint statement between CCCE and Keizai Doyukai for submission into the record and for the benefit of this committee. I won't refer to it more directly than that. In addition CCCE has worked closely with Nippon Keidanren to advance the bilateral commercial relationship over the past three decades.
Last September, the Honourable John Manley, president and CEO of CCCE, visited Japan along with the CEO of Manulife, Donald Guloien, and a group of CEOs. I understand from testimony last week that the senior vice-president of Manulife appeared before your committee and provided some testimony in this regard. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the joint study and possible launch of EPA negotiations and to survey the incredible results of the tragic triple disaster that occurred last year in Japan. The CEOs had fantastic discussions with Japanese business and political leaders, and it's clear that business ties between Canada and Japan are strong.
On a more recent visit, we learned of the incredible perseverance and resolve of the Japanese people to overcome the challenges of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters. The recovery efforts have been nothing short of miraculous. The rebuilding efforts are ambitious and comprehensive.
Canadian business leaders took note of the importance of energy and food security for the Japanese people and their government. They realized that Canada was pushing on an open door with respect to enhancing the relationship, and there is a lot of goodwill toward Canada, especially given the immediate assistance provided by the Government of Canada and by Canadian companies in the aftermath of the earthquake. The Government of Canada, particularly our team in Tokyo as well as here in Ottawa, deserve commendation for the incredible job they did to help Japanese and Canadians during this trying period and for the determination to enhance our ties with Japan.
All these observations suggest not only that we know each other well but that we have before us an important opportunity. That's why we believe that we have taken an important step to enhance our relationship with the launch of these negotiations.
Just to be clear, we have a 100-year commercial engagement history. We are linked through global value chains all over the world, and we have tremendous business-to-business relationships. As per testimony over the past two weeks before this committee, you know that Japan has a diverse and technologically advanced economy. It's ranked third in the world with a GDP of $5.8 trillion.
Mr. Chair, in the interest of time I won't go over the statistics, which have already been presented before this committee. I will only say, moving to page 4 of my brief, that there is nothing like a global crisis to focus the mind. Canadians, however, as well as Japanese, are now experiencing a third wave of global economic uncertainty, this time centred around rising political and fiscal risk associated with the recent elections in Greece, France, and even a couple of länder in Germany. As Canadian workers and private sector employers of all sizes face slower growth in the United States and in parts of Europe, the time is ripe for a re-intensification of our work with Japan.
Canada and Japan should not delay the negotiation of an ambitious and comprehensive agreement. Ensuring effective and equitable market access for businesses from both countries will revitalize the existing economic relationship and yield mutual economic gains.
To ensure an ambitious and meaningful agreement, CCCE respectfully suggests that a Canada-Japan EPA should result in the elimination, either immediately or over the short term, of substantially all remaining tariffs as well as the removal, in so far as it's possible, of substantially all non-tariff barriers; liberalization of services trade; simplified rules of origin that facilitate the use of preferences; clear rules to settle future commercial disputes; regulatory coherence and cooperation, including a framework to promote transparency and mutual recognition; improvements to each of our principles regarding competition policy and alignment therein; enhanced labour mobility using a negative-list approach for enhanced movement of business professionals; high levels of protection for intellectual property; more transparent and simplified customs procedures; lower barriers and lower risks for investors with comprehensive provisions in the EPA; alignment of policies on government procurement; cooperation on safety standards regarding food and other products; and, importantly, greater cooperation in the areas of energy and food security, in the promotion of investment in third countries, and in support of an equitable two-way flow of manufactured goods; and, finally, institutional cooperation in security and trade matters, including cyber security, an important matter of increasing concern.
The U.S. remains Canada's largest trading partner, and Canada is highly integrated into the North American economy. We all know that. However, Canada does need to diversify its trade relationships and build stronger partnerships in Asia and elsewhere. As the U.S. looks to enhance access to the Asian markets, Canada must do so as well to ensure Canada's future prosperity. Asia's rise—and this is a pretty bold statement—is the single most important force transforming the world economy. As a Pacific nation, Canada must look towards Asia—China, Japan, and other priority countries. Successful conclusion of an ambitious EPA will give Canada a presence in Asia and could be the first in a series of economic partnerships in the region.
The CCCE has been active in promoting engagement with priority Asian countries. Most recently, we launched an initiative called Canada in the Pacific century. It seeks to identify and promote key policy solutions to enhance Canada's ability to succeed in a transforming global economy, to raise awareness, and to improve Canadians' understanding of the resulting challenges and opportunities for Canada. A key conference will take place on September 24 and 25 here in Ottawa. It will address several key matters including the issue of food security.
The rise of Asia is changing the global economic landscape. The time has come to diversify our trade relationships. Both Canada and Japan are also seeking to join the regional Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and both of our governments are engaged in consultations with TPP members.
Mr. Chairman, Canada should not wait for an answer to its request for entrance into the TPP to enhance its trading relationship with Japan. Japan has the largest market of current and prospective TPP participants with whom Canada does not have an FTA.
Securing an agreement with Japan will give Canada a first-mover advantage in a significant market like Japan, especially in the area of agriculture. I understand that previous testimony has attested to that notion as well. We totally agree with the issue of first-mover advantage. We brought it up within the context of the FTA that this government negotiated with Colombia. Canadian exporters of agricultural food products and other products benefited immensely because we successfully negotiated the Colombia FTA first. We're going to be at a similar disadvantage given that the United States has negotiated and finalized its FTA with Korea. Our agricultural producers who are export oriented are quite worried about losing market share in a country as large as Korea.
We should maintain a high degree of ambition and agree to conclude these bilateral negotiations hopefully within two years so that Canadians can benefit as soon as possible from this enhanced and very important relationship.
Thanks.