China recently moved to ban Canadian canola, soybeans, and other agriproducts. These efforts at economic coercion are closely tied to the ongoing tensions between the two countries, which began when Canadian authorities arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in December 2018, following a US extradition request. In the long-term, Canada should be taking every measure available to diversify our trade beyond China. Taiwan has been vigilantly doing so for years, and Canadians should take note of its efforts to achieve greater resilience against China’s economic coercion. Such trade diversification should be part of Canada’s long-term strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.
Trade is indispensable to fostering greater levels of global economic development. As the OECD has written, “No country has lifted itself out of poverty without international trade.” This category consolidates GTIPA-member reports assessing the intersection of trade and economic development.
