Canada, Thailand to start talks on trade deal

BANGKOK(Reuters): Canada will start talks with Thailand on a free trade agreement as part of a broader plan to diversify its export markets, particularly for energy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday.

“As part of our economic action plan, we are positioning Canada for a stronger role in a world where trade patterns are shifting,” he told a joint news conference with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Harper, whose Conservative Party won a majority government in last May’s election after governing with a minority in Parliament since 2006, said that when he first came to office, Canada had only five free trade agreements.

“We’ve made it our business to get back into the game of trade negotiations. We have now concluded agreements with nine additional countries since we came into office and obviously we are in the process of launching agreements throughout this region,” he said.

Harper said Canada’s trade and investment ties with Thailand are already expanding rapidly.

“Canada’s trade alone is up 15 percent with Thailand over the last year in spite of flooding and other difficulties,” he said. “So I think there’s tremendous opportunity and we will continue to keep at it.”

Thailand is a big Southeast Asian hub for global manufacturers, particularly in the car and electronics sectors.

Yingluck said Thailand would welcome Canadian investment in its electronics, machinery, automobile and information technology industries and was also looking for co-operation on clean energy, environmental protection and biotechnology.

Asked about energy, Harper said: “Our government believes it is essential that we be able to sell our energy products outside of North America to partners and countries other than the United States. Obviously that will require some significant infrastructure projects to go forward.”

Canada’s exports overwhelmingly go to the United States, but Harper is making a concerted push in Asia, partly because of tepid U.S. growth and partly because U.S. President Barack Obama has blocked TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline, designed to ship crude from Canada’s oil sands to the United States. Harper leaves Thailand on Saturday for Japan before heading to South Korea on Monday, where he will attend a nuclear security summit.