Turning it Around - How to Restore Canada’s Trade Success: Report

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has issued a report today titled Turning it Around: How to Restore Canada’s Trade Success.

The report argues that free trade agreements are not enough to reverse Canada’s dismal trade performance over the past decade. Canada must also bolster trade promotion services and diplomatic support for companies abroad.

In the report, the Chamber recommends the federal government takes concrete steps to:

• Integrate trade services and connect them to businesses
• Put the business back in Canada’s global brand
• Strengthen Canada’s diplomatic presence abroad
• Incorporate the private sector into Canada’s international aid strategy

Recent efforts to improve domestic competitiveness and sign new free trade agreements are helping. But these alone can’t address all the barriers companies face when entering a new business environment nor do they substitute for the need to build government-to-government relationships that open new opportunities.

The report is available for download at http://chamber.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7ff6d535f16100c2e37d2ef8b&id=288f2cd1ae&e=1d9d6a09be