More of the Usual Provocations

What is it with the United States, always coercing, throwing its weight around, provoking its partners in peace and trade with its view of conditions and particularities, rather than seeking consensus and offering a fair hearing to its international colleagues. Obviously, this results from the very fact that in human relations, might makes right. And any body that doesn't agree simply needn't apply. It's a take-it-or-leave-it situation. And for Canada, there isn't all that much choice. In a very real sense, trade with the U.S., Canada's border neighbour, often is the only game in town.

All the more so with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, and then the North American Free Trade Agreement. The signatories, the United States, Canada and Mexico have become interdependent to a great degree. Aside from which, the United States, with its great economic clout on the world stage, the world's single Great Power, can call its own tune, and it does. It can go it alone, and often does. Anything the U.S. Congress isn't quite happy with, even if it meets all the rules and regulations of NAFTA protocol, it can and will overrule.

For the simple fact is American interests come first, and American laws are subservient to none other. Canada and Mexico, for the most part, when it comes to trade irritants simply lump it. Even when a NAFTA or impartial World Trade investigation will reveal that the U.S. has erred, there are ways and means by which the U.S. can evade those inconvenient decisions coming down in favour of Canada's or Mexico's position.

Canada has been desperately looking for additional trade partners; the European Union, Colombia. But in the most practical sense of trade opportunities, it will always be cross-border trade between Canada and the United States that will benefit Canada the most. Canada needs trade opportunities to grow; the U.S. does not; its huge population, ten times that of Canada's is capable of consuming what it produces.

Still, it is in the interests of all three countries to free up trade and services, to enable freer entry of goods and services and workers under NAFTA. The fact is that despite protectionist interests from within the U.S. and strenuous lobbying from their special interest groups, the two countries have gone beyond trade and have integrated their production systems. One complementing the other, as in automobile production and intra-firm trade of all kinds.

With Americans tightening their borders post 9-11, ostensibly for safety purposes, to ensure that no potential terrorists enter the U.S. through Canada, an urban legend that Americans hold tight to their bosoms, an additional irritant has arisen. Border congestion as a result of enhanced security measures, occasionally hiding behind a protectionist agenda. Hampering the smooth flow of people, goods and services across borders.

And what's the latest insult for Canada? Intellectual property laws. And now Canada has been casually given inclusion to the U.S. list of countries that urgently need reform, according to the Americans. Where previously Canada had been placed on a perturbing 'watch list', suddenly it finds itself on the 'priority watch list', alongside Russia, China, Indonesia and other countries for whom intellectual property rights considerations aren't a big issue.

Our bilateral relationship is always in a state of apprehended insurrection, it would appear. And with the new Obama administration, despite that the president has avowed it has no intention of re-visiting NAFTA, it doesn't appear averse to complicating it. Canada has advised its neighbour that its process of analysis leading to non-compliance designation is flawed and unreliable, not objective as it should be, obviously to no avail.

Canada is accused of having a 32% non-compliance rate with its international copyright obligations. Yet our federal police prioritizes intellectual property cases, our laws have stiff statutory damages provisions. Canada's copyright rules can also be more restrictive than those of the United States. Still, there is Canada on the priority watch list along with high-piracy nations like Argentina, Pakistan, Venezuela.

Even so, our 32% non-compliance pales before Indonesia's 86%, China's 76%, Pakistan's 85%, Thailand's 76%; in fact, none of the other countries on the list, has a rate under 66%. No fewer than 20 countries submitted briefs to the United States in defense of their laws and policies, many for the purpose of being removed from the list. Inaccuracies were pointed out, and many countries provided details of their anti-counterfeiting work.

For the United States, it's the bottom line; their protection of their industries' copyright. And for that purpose, everything is fair in business as it is in war.