message from the board chair
Are you ready for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement?
Jerome Ferber, SCMP, Chair, SCMA National Board of Directors
You have undoubtedly heard much about the Trans-Pacific Partnership( TPP) trade agreement. Whether you believe it to be a good or bad trade agreement for Canada, as a strategic supply chain professional you need to be prepared if it becomes a reality.
According to André Downs, chief economist at the department of Global Affairs, joining the TPP would generate billions in long-term gains for the Canadian economy, which would largely come through better access to traditionally shuttered markets. From a supply chain perspective, there are some very positive aspects of the TPP agreement that will have a dramatic effect on supply chain strategy in the future. Sandy Moroz, a former trade negotiator for Canada, says that this agreement“ could allow Canada to use one set of rules when exporting to any of the other 11 TPP countries, including our NAFTA partners, as well as Japan, which would be the biggest new prize for Canadian exporters.”
Not everyone is optimistic about the TPP. Nobel Prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz feels that the agreement will worsen inequality because it includes aspects that heavily favour U. S. corporate interests.
Those in the Canadian auto industry would likely join in the negative assessment of the TPP. Moroz alludes to this negative sentiment in his comments:“ The central question facing the Canadian auto sector is not whether Canada should stay in the TPP if it is implemented; instead, it is where in North America will vehicles be assembled in the future?” Canada would presumably remove its tariffs over five years, whereas the U. S. has negotiated a 25-year implementation. These differences in implementation timelines, which vary greatly from commodity to commodity and country to country, understandably have Canadian businesses concerned.
No matter what your stand is on the TPP, or how great or small its potential impact will be on your strategic planning
NO MATTER WHAT YOUR STAND IS ON THE TPP, OR HOW GREAT OR SMALL ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT WILL BE ON YOUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, YOU WILL BENEFIT FROM KNOWING SOME OF THE BASIC FACTS RELATED TO THE TPP.
SUPPLY CHAIN CANADA • QUARTER 4 2016 • 7