International Trade committee  —but the four members themselves already have FTAs with each another. They have made it clear that to join that group of four members as opposed to being observers, the acceding country must already have free trade agreements with those four.

International Trade committee  Maybe I can just add that the Pacific Alliance, as we understand it, is a new initiative among four countries that already have free trade agreements with each other. Indeed, one of the requirements of joining the Pacific Alliance is that the new members have to already have free

International Trade committee  MFN provisions are sprinkled throughout most of our FTAs, and there can be exemptions from them as well. But our own trade, in terms of imports from the Pacific Alliance countries, already exceeds the 90% duty-free category because our FTAs have been in force for some time and ar

International Trade committee  I apologize. I was consulting with my colleagues at the time. If there was a specific question, could it be repeated, please? I didn't hear it.

International Trade committee  That's correct.

International Trade committee  It is correct that the treaty would establish, if it's passed by Parliament, a joint commission between the two countries, and the Minister of International Trade in Canada would be the principal representative for the Government of Canada.

International Trade committee  I believe this would be unique to the Panama implementing legislation. We would have to confirm that by checking the other bills, but I believe it would be the first time this is done. I'm not certain.

International Trade committee  I'm not sure I could give a generic response. It would really depend on whether the amendment that was being proposed had a direct impact on the text in the treaty itself. I can't provide a generic response; it depends on the proposed amendment, the specific amendment.

International Trade committee  I have a note here somewhere, but the evidence shows and studies have shown that trade between two countries after negotiating a free trade agreement should roughly double over about a ten-year period, and Canada's experience has been along those lines.

International Trade committee  Certainly with respect to trade balances and trade deficits, trade policy tools are really not the appropriate tools to try to deal with those issues. I think if the government had a concern about those issues, there are tax policies and questions of currency, etc., that are more

International Trade committee  Maybe I can provide a first response, and I know Mr. Reeder has something to add to it. One of Canada's objectives in negotiating an agreement with Panama is to provide new economic opportunities for Canadians and Canadian businesses, etc. We've spoken about that to some extent.

International Trade committee  That's correct. There are no fines associated with a failure to implement the environment agreement.

International Trade committee  Mr. Chair, I'm not sure I can answer the question exactly as it was stated. But I would note that Prince Edward Island's merchandise exports to Panama in 2011 were $1.1 million, and they were led by frozen french fries and frozen potato products. If and when the FTA enters into f

International Trade committee  I think that would be a good thing for the P.E.I. potato.

International Trade committee  Mr. Chair, I think I'd leave it to you to respond as to whether that's a fair comment or not.