Canada's trade minister states trade discussion with Taiwan are part of a bigger Indo-Pacific system

February 22, 2023: Canada’s determination to join a formal bilateral trade discussion with Taiwan is an area of a broader strategy for the Indo-Pacific area, its minister of international trade told on Tuesday.

The two sides agreed on February 7 to begin formal negotiations on a trade agreement to strengthen trade and investment.

“I was able to launch what we reach FIPA, a foreign investment, protection agreement with Taiwan, but it is a part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific thinking for diversification into the area,” Mary Ng, the trade minister, said told on Tuesday.

“We went away from the Canadian people and had an extensive consultation before coming to this point, which is establishing this dialogue,” she added.

According to Taiwan’s official statistics, bilateral trade between Canada and Taiwan will reach $5.82 billion in 2022. Taiwan is Canada’s 13th-largest trading partner globally and its 5th-largest trading partner in Asia.

According to that data, Taiwan’s exports to Canada amounted to $3.3 billion last year, and Canada’s exports to Taiwan collected to $2.52 billion in a similar period.

The deal would “establish more resilient supply chains in the post-pandemic era, supporting the rules-based international economic and trade rule,” the foreign affairs ministry of Taiwan stated.

Besides Taiwan, the country is exploring growth opportunities in the region, stated the Canadian minister. She stated that there are ongoing talks with the 10-member Southeast Asian ASEAN bloc on different trade areas for cooperation.

“You’ll experience in the Indo-Pacific strategy that Canada laid out a very comprehensive area for how we are going to increase in the region,” noted Ng.

“This area is the fastest growing,” she said. “By 2030, you will have a significant part of the growing middle class. By 2040, the numbers are around half the middle class in the region.”

″The Indo-Pacific area will play a critical role in shaping Canada’s upcoming over the next half-century,” Canada stated in its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy in November.