Thank you.
Honourable members, it's a pleasure to be here. Welcome to Vancouver.
At Port Metro Vancouver, free and open trade is crucial to the delivery of our mission and to our ability to provide value to the community in which we operate—and, for that matter, to the nation as a whole. With that in mind, we appreciate the opportunity to present to you today, and commend the committee for undertaking this important study.
Simply put, we view the successful conclusion of a comprehensive trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and Canada’s ongoing participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations as incredibly important initiatives.
As you may well already know, Port Metro Vancouver is Canada’s largest and busiest port, acting as a vital gateway for domestic and international trade and a significant economic force strengthening Canada's economy.
We are the most diversified port in the whole of North America, facilitating trade with more than 160 economies around the world and handling 124 million tonnes of cargo—in fact, I expect in 2013 probably approaching 130 million tonnes of cargo—worth more than $75 billion each year.
Putting those statistics another way, nearly 20%, or one-fifth, of everything Canada trades in goods moves through this port here in Vancouver.
In British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, the activity creates 57,000 jobs. Nationally the jobs created by the port supply chain alone rise to 98,800. It's worthy of note that jobs related to the port supply chain are at income or wage levels typically 53% above the national average wage for Canada.
Even from the west coast of our nation, Port Metro Vancouver has a long history of facilitating trade with European nations. In 2012 Canadian exports to the EU through our port exceeded 5 million metric tons, and included wheat, meat, wood chips, coal, metals, and minerals. At the same time, Port Metro Vancouver handled the import of 169,000 metric tons of household goods, construction materials, vehicles, machinery, and beverages from the EU.
Canada’s new comprehensive economic and trade agreement with the EU will strengthen ties to one of our most important markets while improving access for Canadian companies, and growing trade in general. An interesting example is the forestry sector, a crucial employer here in British Columbia. It's a perfect example of an industry that stands to benefit directly from a Canada-EU trade agreement.
Through the elimination of tariffs on B.C. wood and wood products, which currently average 2.2% but peak as high as 10%, our exports will now be able to price-compete on an equal footing, and as a result will gain better access to the roughly 500 million consumers in the EU. The 15,000 British Columbians employed in this sector will benefit directly. It's inevitable that employment and economic activity in the sector will increase accordingly.
Other sectors that Port Metro Vancouver believes will benefit include B.C.'s fish and seafood industry, which employs nearly 5,500 British Columbians; British Columbia’s investment environment, through the facilitation of two-way investment in the assurance of equal market access; and our service sector, through the rationalization of citizenship and residency requirements, the introduction of temporary entry rules, and the elimination of ownership and investment restrictions.
All in all, we would support the assertion that the EU trade agreement provides the opportunity for a 20% boost in bilateral trade and a $12-billion increase in Canada’s GDP.
We are, of course, on the west coast also very optimistic about the potential benefits associated with the successful completion of the ongoing negotiations as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. A successful TPP agreement would be particularly good news for British Columbia, given our geographic position relative to the participant countries and our deep existing relationships with the markets in question.
Currently three of the nations taking part in TPP talks can be found amongst the list of the top ten trading economies for exports leaving Port Metro Vancouver in 2012. Trade to and from TPP economies via Port Metro Vancouver amounted to over 30 million metric tons in 2012.
While a significant number—going back to my opening—this represents just over 24% of goods traded through the port in that year. The opportunity to increase access to these markets is upon us. As it stands today, Asian countries represent a relatively small percentage of total Canadian exports. A successfully completed comprehensive agreement we believe has the potential to dramatically improve Canada’s access to key Pacific Rim markets.
The benefits of the TPP would include increased exports to these markets and the development of stronger commercial ties and person-to-person connections between our province and the fast-growing Asian economies.
Again taking the B.C. lumber industry as an example, our current exports of wood and wood-related products face tariffs of up to 10% in Japan, 31% in Vietnam, and 40% in Malaysia. Paper and paperboard products face tariffs of up to 27% in Vietnam and 25% in Malaysia. Eliminating these complicated and costly tariff barriers on B.C. wood and wood-related products will help open a lucrative market of 792 million consumers through the TPP nations and generate direct benefits in B.C. in exactly the same manner, we believe, as the European customers we will shortly be able to access better through CETA.
Port Metro Vancouver has been a strong supporter—and in terms of infrastructure development, an enabler—of the Government of Canada's ongoing efforts to diversify Canada's trade partnerships and expand our international market access. In fact, as I speak, we are delivering more than $200 million of infrastructure to connect the ports to the country and allow easier movement of trade through the port.
We firmly believe that the benefits of both a Canada-EU trade agreement and a future agreement with the Trans-Pacific Partnership are important to the long-term health of the Canadian and British Columbian economies.
On behalf of Port Metro Vancouver, I thank you for the opportunity to present today. We'll be very happy to take any questions you may have.
Thank you.