Trade and Investment Research Project
@ccpa-tirp.bsky.social
A project of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives that pools expertise from NGOs, unions and academics studying trade treaties and globalization. Directed by CCPA Researcher Stuart Trew.
policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
Can we hit zero? No, but we can dream.
November 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Can we hit zero? No, but we can dream.
The only loophole is the procurement thresholds. On very small purchases, Ontario and subprovincial govs can prefer local goods. Crown corporations have a bit more wiggle room. A Buy Ontario strategy for Crowns could be quite effective.
November 20, 2025 at 4:47 PM
The only loophole is the procurement thresholds. On very small purchases, Ontario and subprovincial govs can prefer local goods. Crown corporations have a bit more wiggle room. A Buy Ontario strategy for Crowns could be quite effective.
AI is a hoax.
November 16, 2025 at 9:07 PM
AI is a hoax.
Canadians do not believe a deal with Trump is near. We're a smart people.
November 13, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Canadians do not believe a deal with Trump is near. We're a smart people.
Essential update on legal, political and economic developments in Ecuador since September — from @cepr.org. Here is a section linking Noboa's constitutional reform hopes to investor-state dispute settlement and the Canada FTA. Cdn mining firms back the proposal.
November 13, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Essential update on legal, political and economic developments in Ecuador since September — from @cepr.org. Here is a section linking Noboa's constitutional reform hopes to investor-state dispute settlement and the Canada FTA. Cdn mining firms back the proposal.
Now would be a good time to slow Canadian aluminum production to squeeze US buyers even further.
November 11, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Now would be a good time to slow Canadian aluminum production to squeeze US buyers even further.
One day, America. One day soon, Trump's trade policy will start to work. 😂
November 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
One day, America. One day soon, Trump's trade policy will start to work. 😂
Dispute settlement or a rapid response labour mechanism would have been useful to enforce this labour right commitment on Malaysia’s part.
October 26, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Dispute settlement or a rapid response labour mechanism would have been useful to enforce this labour right commitment on Malaysia’s part.
Trump’s version of trade dispute settlement, from the remarkable Malaysia deal. Malaysia agrees to mirror US trade security/geoeconomic actions, invest in US, lower NTMs on ag etc, facilitate US investment in critical minerals, and live with US tariffs.
October 26, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Trump’s version of trade dispute settlement, from the remarkable Malaysia deal. Malaysia agrees to mirror US trade security/geoeconomic actions, invest in US, lower NTMs on ag etc, facilitate US investment in critical minerals, and live with US tariffs.
Canada's 1% salutes you, Reagan!
October 24, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Canada's 1% salutes you, Reagan!
Canada's remission order on tariffs on certain US imports expired yesterday. Does this mean the tariffs are going back up? orders-in-council.canada.ca/attachment.p...
October 17, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Canada's remission order on tariffs on certain US imports expired yesterday. Does this mean the tariffs are going back up? orders-in-council.canada.ca/attachment.p...
And it keeps going. No factual record of Trump giving Kirk a posthumous medal of freedom today. Didn’t happen.
October 14, 2025 at 10:25 PM
And it keeps going. No factual record of Trump giving Kirk a posthumous medal of freedom today. Didn’t happen.
Not trade related, but does anyone know why Deepseek wants Charlie Kirk to not be dead? Seriously cannot convince the Chinese AI that he was killed. Just a hoax!
October 14, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Not trade related, but does anyone know why Deepseek wants Charlie Kirk to not be dead? Seriously cannot convince the Chinese AI that he was killed. Just a hoax!
Full list
October 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Full list
Ouch Mexico. CBP releases data on Trump's extortionate IEEPA and "national security" tariffs www.cbp.gov/newsroom/sta....
October 14, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Ouch Mexico. CBP releases data on Trump's extortionate IEEPA and "national security" tariffs www.cbp.gov/newsroom/sta....
Kind of great accidental photo choice, MSN robots. 😂
October 2, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Kind of great accidental photo choice, MSN robots. 😂
But we need more LNG!!! 😂
September 29, 2025 at 3:38 PM
But we need more LNG!!! 😂
The case involves a national security measure ordering Hikvision to close its Canadian subsidiary, taken under the Investment Canada Act—powers that are generally excluded from coverage in investment treaties. However, it's not clear a post-investment order is safe.
September 29, 2025 at 2:49 PM
The case involves a national security measure ordering Hikvision to close its Canadian subsidiary, taken under the Investment Canada Act—powers that are generally excluded from coverage in investment treaties. However, it's not clear a post-investment order is safe.
Closing post. The last economic impact assessment of CEPA was done in 2019. It predicted a possible increase in exports of just under $450 million / yr. Canada's 2024 total exports valued $721 billion. That was before Trump got a CEPA-worth of tariff cuts from Indonesia in recent weeks.
September 25, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Closing post. The last economic impact assessment of CEPA was done in 2019. It predicted a possible increase in exports of just under $450 million / yr. Canada's 2024 total exports valued $721 billion. That was before Trump got a CEPA-worth of tariff cuts from Indonesia in recent weeks.
However, the SPS chapter here is an extensive WTO-plus framework + bilateral committee giving Canada's (significantly US-owned) biosciences lobby a powerful pressure point on Indonesian regulators. Here's an earlier Canadian summary of outcomes:
September 25, 2025 at 12:33 AM
However, the SPS chapter here is an extensive WTO-plus framework + bilateral committee giving Canada's (significantly US-owned) biosciences lobby a powerful pressure point on Indonesian regulators. Here's an earlier Canadian summary of outcomes:
Another awesome passage—and the only sane language Indonesia could have agreed to after Mexico's GMO corn loss under CUSMA (related to impact assessment of SPS measures): We agree to endeavour to maybe ask regulators to do regulatory impact assessments, again based on our laws. This is good.
September 25, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Another awesome passage—and the only sane language Indonesia could have agreed to after Mexico's GMO corn loss under CUSMA (related to impact assessment of SPS measures): We agree to endeavour to maybe ask regulators to do regulatory impact assessments, again based on our laws. This is good.
I think this is my favourite clause so far: taking a quite specific OECD concept (good regulatory practice) and saying, instead, basically we're going to regulate however we like and call it good. (Sarcasm aside, I like this version better than the OECD version.)
September 25, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I think this is my favourite clause so far: taking a quite specific OECD concept (good regulatory practice) and saying, instead, basically we're going to regulate however we like and call it good. (Sarcasm aside, I like this version better than the OECD version.)
Canada appears to have agreed to re-weaken enforcement of the labour and trade chapter, e.g., with footnotes like this. The case law shows it is extremely difficult to prove whether the violation affects trade or investment. That's why we got rid of this language in CUSMA.
September 24, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Canada appears to have agreed to re-weaken enforcement of the labour and trade chapter, e.g., with footnotes like this. The case law shows it is extremely difficult to prove whether the violation affects trade or investment. That's why we got rid of this language in CUSMA.