Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Laurentides—Labelle.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today about Bill C-13, the legislation that would allow Canada to implement the World Trade Organization agreement on trade facilitation, otherwise known as TFA.
As members may know, the TFA is the first multilateral trade agreement finalized since the establishment of the World Trade Organization, in 1995. It is truly a landmark achievement. The TFA focuses on streamlining, harmonizing, and modernizing customs procedures. It has enormous potential for reducing trade costs and time, particularly in developing and the least-developed countries. In fact, the WTO estimates that full TFA implementation has the potential to increase global merchandise exports by up to $1 trillion, and it could reduce global trade costs by an average of over 14%. In the event that not all WTO members fully implement the TFA, the real-world impact will be significant.
Domestically, implementation of the TFA will provide Canada with the unique opportunity to promote inclusive growth. It will do this by making cross-border trade easier for businesses of all sizes, particularly SMEs.
I would like to speak today about some of the legislative amendments that are required for Canada to join the ranks of 92 other World Trade Organization members, including the EU, the U.S., and China, which have already ratified the TFA.
While Canada's customs regime is compliant with the vast majority of the provisions in the TFA, certain statutes require amendments for Canada to fully implement the TFA and to maintain safeguards for the health and safety of Canadians and our environment. These amendments relate to two provisions of the TFA: article 10.8.1, rejected goods, and article 11.8, goods in transit.
Today I would like to talk about amendments related to article 11.8 on goods in transit.
Article 11.8 prohibits the application of technical regulations to goods moving through a WTO member's territory from a point outside its territory to another foreign point, which are known as “goods in transit”. This provision will allow foreign goods to move through Canada—for example, from Europe to the United States—without complying with our technical regulations.
The transit through Canada of some goods, such as pharmaceutical drugs, cleaning products, and pesticides, which do not comply with the technical regulations, is currently prohibited by certain federal statutes: the Food and Drugs Act, the Pest Control Products Act, the Radiation Emitting Devices Act, and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
While most importers are aware of the prohibitions on the transit of unregistered or unauthorized products, from time to time companies request one-off permission to transit such products through Canada. Such activities are expressly prohibited by legislative or regulatory requirements and are routinely denied.
Preventing products that do not comply with technical regulations from transiting through Canada can be considered a trade barrier. This is because the health and safety of Canadians and the environment can, in fact, be protected in an equally effective, less trade-restrictive manner.
The legislative amendments proposed in the bill would specify that Canada's technical regulations would not apply to goods in transit through Canada as long as certain requirements for protecting health, safety, and the environment were met.
More specifically, Bill C-13 includes requirements designated to mitigate the risk that certain goods in transit could be diverted in the Canadian market or compromise the health and safety of Canadians, or the environment as a result of accidents or spills. For example, labelling requirements for certain goods in transit will enable inspectors, border officers, handlers, and sellers to distinguish between goods destined for import and those just passing through. Such labelling could denote the origin, intended destination, and product safety and handling procedure for goods in transit.
By implementing the proposed amendments to the Food and Drugs Act, the Pest Control Products Act, the Radiation Emitting Device Act, and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, Canada would improve the flow of goods and services to its border.
The world is more connected than ever before, yet all too often outdated and uncoordinated customs procedures slow down the movement of goods and raise trade costs. Bill C-13 would enable Canada to facilitate custom procedures at home. The TFA will do the same around the world and bring considerable economic benefits to Canada and other World Trade Organization members.
I support Bill C-13 and all the benefits it would bring to Canadians. More specifically, I support it because it would benefit the many small and medium enterprises in my riding of Richmond Hill, such as those in the construction industry, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, service delivery, agriculture, transport, and others.
Although it is a small suburban town, Richmond Hill has huge export and import potential and the residents of Richmond Hill can stand to benefit significantly from the removal of these trade barriers.
I urge hon. members to support this legislation, which would enable Canada to do its part to bring the agreement into force and ensure the health and safety of Canadians and the continued protection of the environment.