International Trade committee  I don't know if we could say so directly, but my experience has been that where we have strong, traditional CIDA programming, it generates tremendous goodwill in the host government towards Canada, in their thinking about Canada and their appreciation for us. And that aid will lead to trade, that aid will lead to investment.

International Trade committee  I want to make it clear that the conversation stopped in 2005 and picked up again this year. In fact, we didn't really have a dialogue in that intervening period. I guess our trade people went off in different directions on other priorities. But we weren't trying in those five years to get a deal.

International Trade committee  We haven't really talked about the Brazilian States, but we have very strong ties with some of them. There are 40 million people in the state of São Paulo, so it has a larger population than Canada. It is important to have good ties with the states and to work with them to promote the possibilities at the regional level.

International Trade committee  During the Prime Minister's visit, it was clear that they had to review their investment policies and decrease the bureaucracy to facilitate foreign investment. Actually, it's still fairly complicated. They are aware of the work they need to do, especially in a context where they want to put more emphasis on infrastructures.

International Trade committee  Let me just make a couple of remarks, then maybe Don may wish to add. Beyond where we go with the Mercosur conversation, I think what we want to do is to really build this relationship as the anchor relationship in South America. For all the reasons we've mentioned, we have to be engaged in Brazil.

International Trade committee  I think infrastructure, sir, is one of the big ones now. As Don says, which sectors would be impacted by free or freer trade depends on the nature of their discussions. The opportunity we see is infrastructure, in particular, and oil and gas. You can go across a range of sectors where you've got this economy in full expansion, an economy that hasn't been affected by the economic downturn.

International Trade committee  Yes, we're looking for opportunities in subcontracting with larger contractors, for example, for stadium development, roads, lighting, the infrastructure associated with the FIFA activities, but also with the World Cup specifically. The SNC-Lavalins of this world, for example, which are quite active in Brazil, would be able to subcontract opportunities within a larger contract won by a Brazilian company.

International Trade committee  The advice we give to companies, particularly Quebec companies, is to contact our trade office in Montreal—Canada's regional office in Quebec—to talk about their interests. We also recommend that they contact our embassy and our consulates in Brazil. I don't want to give specific advice, but I often see that it is better to find a good local ally, a local partner, and not to try to penetrate this complex market, if a person doesn't already have a company there.

International Trade committee  I want to be clear on South America. We have free trade agreements now with Columbia, Peru, and Chile, and we're negotiating or discussing with the Mercosur four, those being Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. I would say in looking at our export posture vis-à-vis Mercosur that about 96% of our exports go to Brazil and Argentina within the four.

International Trade committee  As far as I understand it right now, Paraguay is the last country in Mercosur that has to endorse Venezuela's accession. They have to formally endorse this through their congress or their senate, and that hasn't happened. I believe Venezuela has observer status within Mercosur, but it is not formally a member until each of the congresses of the other four countries provides its accord.

International Trade committee  Well, at least one agreement has been signed, and I can provide further details, sir. There was a road infrastructure lighting agreement that was signed as a direct result of that visit and further conversations during the Prime Minister's visit. We follow up directly with the companies that took part, both in Ottawa and also through our embassy and our consulates there.

International Trade committee  You're quite right, sir. The opportunity in the offshore oil and gas sector is significant, and what we'll be trying to do now is to marry up Canadian technology with the opportunity in Brazil. In the case of the Maritimes, I know that the Atlantic Canada governments are now looking at a trade strategy for Brazil specifically, encompassing opportunities for oil and gas sales of Canadian services.

International Trade committee  I may ask Don to respond on that point, but let me just say that we appreciate the potential. We are realizing significant gains in the relationship with Brazil, there's no question, given the investment numbers, the trade numbers, the infrastructure, and oil and gas opportunities.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. It's a pleasure to be back with you today. I'm joined by Mr. Don McDougall, deputy director, trade policy negotiations division at Foreign Affairs, and we expect to be joined a little later by Susan Harper. Susan is our director general, trade controls and technical barriers bureau.

International Trade committee  I can answer that generally, but I think Don may want to extend that discussion about this question of getting into markets where the United States is not. I'm just thinking of your comments on the Prime Minister's visit to the region--for example, Colombia. Our FTA with Colombia entered into force August 15.