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