TT an important investor destination

THE CANADIAN Intern-ational Development Agency (CIDA) will soon be disbursing Can$5 million to regional associations to assist the private sector in fulfilling its role in the trade negotiation process.

This announcement was made yesterday by Pierre Pettigrew, Canadian Minister for International Trade when he addressed Government Ministers and  prominent members of the business community at the Trinidad Hilton. He spoke on the topic “Integrating Developing Countries Into The Global Economy”. Pettigrew, who said his visit to Trinidad and Tobago and the region was long overdue, said this country was Canada’s ninth largest trading partner in the Americas and “an important destination for Canadian investment”.

He said he was impressed with the establishment of ties with non-traditional partners in Latin America since “courage, confidence and innovation in the business community is one of any country’s most valuable assets” and Trinidad and Tobago was fortunate enough to have these “qualities in spades”. Pettigrew said Canada’s confidence in the future of this country was demonstrated in record levels of investment valued at well in excess of Can$3 billion. He said one of his reasons for meeting with Trade Minister Ken Valley was to get his first hand view on the challenges Trinidad and Tobago faced in it efforts to move to a more globalized economy. He added that he was aware of the potential impact on industries such as agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. Pettigrew said the issue was definitely “on the minds of Canadians who depend for much of their prosperity on international trade and foreign investment”.

Trade liberalisation has been shown to be an important engine of development, Pettigrew declared, adding that Trinidad and Tobago had been successful in attracting investment. He said plans by government to send a trade and investment mission to Canada in May “was a wonderful step towards bringing our business communities and countries closer together”. According to Pettigrew, Canada now exports 43.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up from 28 percent in 1990. Trade, he said, has created or sustained one Canadian job in four. Pettigrew expressed his belief that initiatives such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) can “complement and reinforce multilateral liberalisation”.

He acknowledged the legitimate concerns of developing countries and small  island economies and said Canada shared the same concerns regarding trade distorting subsidies, as they too could not compete against the treasuries of larger trading partners. Accompanying Pettigrew at yesterday’s conference was his colleague Murray Calder, Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary.