International Trade committee  While I have seen some problems that Canada has caused in bilateral negotiations, I would have to applaud our negotiators for not accepting a second-best deal. There's no reason we should. And there's no reason we shouldn't try with ASEAN. Most of the other countries have a different economic makeup than Singapore, which is unique in many ways.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I consider that Canada's need to get closer to ASEAN on trade and investment, including a free trade agreement, is rather more urgent than Mr. Woo suggested. ASEAN is a very large potential market. It's becoming increasingly affluent, and the way that trade and investment work, we can no longer afford to be left behind, relying on the United States market, where the preferences that we negotiated in 1988 continue to be eroded every time the Americans negotiate a new free trade agreement of their own.

International Trade committee  Mr. Menzies, I may well have said it was dead at a breakfast, but it's like a cat--it keeps coming back. We've got Mr. Lamy around here. He has brought his dog-and-pony show to Ottawa or Kanata, or wherever he is this afternoon. He's trying to get people interested in it again, and he's a very energetic guy.

International Trade committee  When I talked at the breakfast, we were part of G-1. G-12 is a big improvement. We are doing better, but we were bumped out of the quad, where we had an important role. We're a bit slow getting into our broader relationships. We're doing better now. I think the more we're able to get ministers involved--we have two very good ministers on the key issues--the more face time we get them with their colleagues, but not in the context of inevitable failures.

International Trade committee  Let me explain. The trade promotion authority just means Congress will vote up or down on the deal: if they like it, they'll buy it, and they won't amend it. If they don't like it, they'll can it. That's the way it is. They're shaping it through the process, so they can buy it.

International Trade committee  Mr. André, the proposals put out by the United States and by the European Union regarding subsidies are interesting in terms of the numbers, but there is a lot of water in the numbers they're starting from, because the base is very high. There is some question as to whether or not they would even have to reduce their support.

International Trade committee  I would have to say that having been a negotiator and having been in trade policy, you do try to keep these negotiations going, because they provide a discipline on policy-makers. They provide a discipline on domestic industry. If you don't think we're going to have problems, you should all read Representative English's Trade Law Reform Act of 2006, which he tabled yesterday or is tabling today.

International Trade committee  It's a question of where the incentive is. There are a number of groups that have linked issues; for example, the United States and the European Union have made it quite clear they're linking what they're prepared to do on agricultural support to movement on market access and NAMA.

International Trade committee  We don't have any tariffs going into the United States; we're in a free trade area. The problem is the domestic support there and in Europe and other areas, which contributes to low world prices, particularly for grains and oilseeds. Until we get that sorted out, our farmers are going to be at a disadvantage, because we're price-takers.

International Trade committee  The timing is bad, with elections in a number of places, including the United States, Brazil, and Europe. It might be a better time if you waited a couple of years, but if it does crash, that's going to force people to act. It does need reforms inside the system. You can't really negotiate with 148 countries.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think I'll make a few comments on the negotiations and then go into questions. From time to time, I send a number of you commentaries on the state of play of the negotiations. I'd like to assure Ms. Guergis that I do believe the WTO is important, and if the reports are negative, they're just accurate reports on the state of play.