Under Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan (GMAP), the government’s pro-export, pro-jobs plan, new markets around the world have been opened for Newfoundland and Labrador exports. These historic trade achievements will benefit hard-working Canadians in Newfoundland and Labrador and throughout Canada.

In just one year, the government has delivered on its GMAP commitment to eliminate tariffs and support Canadian companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to boost exports, including through:

• the conclusion of negotiations and release of the complete text of the historic Canada-European Union trade agreement. The agreement will eliminate tariffs on all of Newfoundland and Labrador’s key exports. The EU is already the province’s second-largest export destination and second-largest trading partner. On the first day of the agreement’s coming into force, 96 percent of tariffs on fish and seafood products and 99 percent of tariffs on manufactured products entering the EU will be duty-free, creating increased export opportunities to the EU market and its 500 million consumers.
• the conclusion of Canada’s first free trade agreement in Asia with the landmark Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA), which will come into force on January 1, 2015. Newfoundland and Labrador will see tremendous opportunities for export growth, given the complete elimination of South Korean duties on many Canadian products. For example, Canadian fish and seafood exports to South Korea currently face tariffs of up to 47 percent. Once the CKFTA is fully implemented, tariffs on all fish and seafood products will be eliminated, including for key products of interest to Newfoundland and Labrador such as molluscs, snow crab, shrimp and lobster.

Historic trade agreements require historic trade promotion, and under GMAP the Harper government is supporting workers and businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador and ensuring that SMEs have all the necessary tools to seize new opportunities and realize their full export potential.

Key elements of the trade promotion efforts include:

Go Global Export Workshops

Over the next several months, the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, is holding workshops across Canada in collaboration with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and all the Government of Canada’s export support agencies. Under GMAP, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Export Development Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Canadian Commercial Corporation have been aligning their activities, facilitating referrals, sharing market intelligence and information, and providing a whole-of-government approach to boost SME exports. Over 300 SMEs participated in Go Global workshops in 2014.

Regional Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) Activities

In 2014, the TCS’s Atlantic Regional Office, based in Halifax, assisted 299 SMEs, providing them with on-the-ground international business support, including 436 targeted services, and connecting them to new business opportunities.

Trade commissioners have been embedded with public and private sector partners across Canada, including in Newfoundland and Labrador with the Association of Seafood Producers, so they may work closely with businesses to ensure the Government of Canada is responsive to their needs.

Export Development Canada (EDC)

EDC helped 55 Newfoundland and Labrador companies finance or insure $751-million worth of international sales and investments. For example, Major’s Logging Ltd., a mechanical wood-harvesting company based in Newfoundland and Labrador, used EDC’s Export Guarantee product to finance an expansion required to deliver on a new contract with Muskrat Falls. EDC also made its financing, bonding and insurance products available to Canadian companies that provide supplies and services to platforms in the Hebron and White Rose oilfields.

A shift in destination for Newfoundland and Labrador oil will result in a remarkable 28-percent increase in the province’s international exports this year, followed by an additional 4-percent growth in 2015, EDC projected in a new forecast.

Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC)

In 2013-14, CCC worked with specialized companies in Newfoundland and Labrador on export opportunities abroad, including Bluedrop Performance Learning Inc. of St. John’s and Innu Mikun Airlines of Happy Valley.

Attracting Job-Creating Investments in Newfoundland and Labrador

Through the Invest Canada - Community Initiatives program, the Government of Canada provided a total of $50,385 to four Newfoundland and Labrador communities: the City of Mount Pearl, the Town of Conception Bay South, the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s and the Town of Torbay.

As part of GMAP, the government attracts investment to Canada, benefiting hard-working Canadians and their families. In the 2013-14 fiscal year, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) worked with provincial, territorial and municipal investment partners to facilitate 146 successful investment projects worth $3.65 billion and create over 5,500 new jobs within Canada. 

Opening Markets and Supporting Newfoundland and Labrador Businesses Abroad

In 2014, Minister Fast led 13 trade missions to 20 countries, including China in May, where he was joined by a representative of Phase Separation Solutions, a Newfoundland-based company. A representative of St. John’s-based Ocean Choice International also joined the Minister on his trade mission to the United Kingdom in September. Trade missions connect Canadian businesses, especially SMEs, with new opportunities to boost their exports, which creates jobs, growth and prosperity across all regions of Canada, including Newfoundland and Labrador.

In May, Minister Fast led the Canadian delegation at the Seafood Expo Global 2014 in Brussels, Belgium, to promote fish and seafood exports. He was joined by representatives of seven Newfoundland companies— Whitecap International Seafood Exporters, Barry Group Inc., Newfound Resources Ltd., Bay Roberts Seafoods Ltd., Icewater Seafoods Inc., Labrador Fishermen’s Union Shrimp Company Ltd. and Ocean Choice International—and the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Innovative companies from Newfoundland and Labrador can also count on the support of the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) program. Camouflage Software Inc., from St. John’s, is participating in the CTA in New York City, and Sequence Bio, also from St. John’s, will join the CTA in Boston in 2015.

Minister Fast encouraged Newfoundland and Labrador-based businesses to take advantage of the Enterprise Canada Network. Provided in partnership with EDC and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, this network provides online access to more than 30,000 business profiles and information on opportunities in the European market to help Canadian companies take full advantage of the historic Canada-EU trade agreement.

Under GMAP, the Harper government committed to developing comprehensive strategies in key sectors. Strategies released this year that support Newfoundland and Labrador businesses include the International Education, the Extractive Sector and the Corporate Social Responsibility strategies, and an export-oriented Defence Procurement Strategy.

Minister Fast invited businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador to accompany him on his first trade mission of 2015. This trade mission to South Korea, which will take place from February 8 to 13, will enable businesses to take full advantage of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement and benefit from on-the-ground support from the Government of Canada.

Quotes

“This year, 2014, has been the most successful year for international trade in Canadian history, benefiting hard-working Canadians in Newfoundland and Labrador and in every region of the country. Under Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan, we will continue our vigorous trade promotion efforts to boost our exports.

“In 2015, we will continue to focus on the real priorities of hard-working Canadians: creating new jobs and prosperity.”

- Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade