9 - Canada and the WTO: multilevel governance, public policy-making and the WTO Auto Pact Case

Summary

In 1994 the Canadian Parliament adopted legislation to implement the Uruguay Round with virtually no opposition. The measure was easily passed by the House of Commons with a vote of 185–7. There was general acceptance that the World Trade Organization (WTO) was a necessity for Canada both to participate and to compete in the new international order. Not only did legislators believe that the WTO Agreement would enhance and facilitate Canadian exports, but there also was an expectation among parliamentarians that the new rules-based dispute settlement mechanism would act as a counter-force to US unilateralism in the international arena. Roy MacLaren, the Minister for International Trade, explained that the arrangements would particularly benefit ‘small and medium-size trade players like Canada, which are inherently vulnerable to the threat of unilateralism by the economic giants’.

The debates in the House of Commons on the Uruguay Round focused, however, on more than just the merits and advantages of the trade regime. Concerns were expressed about its impact on a number of key Canadian industries. One such debate pertained to auto manufacturing. Thousands of Canadians in central Canada depended on this sector for employment, and questions were raised about the WTO Agreement's effect on the industry.

The Minister of Trade assured parliamentarians, however, that the new trade regime would not have any negative impact on Canadian automobile sales and production:

Nothing in the Uruguay Round adversely affects, or indeed affects, the Canadian automobile industry, other than the reduction in tariffs on manufactured goods. It provides greater opportunity for the export of Canadian-made vehicles to third countries beyond the United States. There's certainly nothing adverse in the agreement for the Canadian automobile industry.