September 21, 2001
Free trade bill with Costa Rica introduced Law
to help create pact for Western Hemisphere
Canada introduced legislation yesterday to establish a free trade agreement with Costa Rica, a move Ottawa said would help speed up plans to establish a free trade zone covering the Western Hemisphere.
"The free trade agreement with Costa Rica signals our continued commitment to the hemisphere," Pierre Pettigrew, Minister for International Trade, told a news conference after the legislation was introduced in Parliament yesterday.
Mr. Pettigrew said the new agreement would help build the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which would link 34 countries of North and South America -- all but Cuba -- in a single trading zone. The current deadline for FTAA completion is 2005.
Trade between Canada and Costa Rica totalled $270-million in 2000. Canada imports fruit, coffee, raw sugar, gold, flowers and jams. Costa Rica imports paper, wheat, potato products and automotive products.
Also yesterday, Parliament introduced amendments to the Export Development Act to enable the Export Development Corp., the government's exporting arm, to require an environmental review of projects it funds. It will also change the name of the group to Export Development Canada.
"This will allow Canada to position itself at the forefront of environmental review policy for export credit agencies around the world," Mr. Pettigrew said.
Timi Gerson
Organizer/FTAA Coordinator
Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
215 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Washington DC, 20003 USA
tgerson@citizen.org
www.tradewatch.org
Ph: + 202-454-5103, Fax: + 202-547 7392
For more information ,please contact Timi Gerson at Public Citizen: