Obama’s “Buy American” protectionism policies have forced America’s long time allies to pursue business opportunities else where. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s administration inks another trade deal, this one with Jordan.

Here’s the official press release:

Canada Introduces Implementing Legislation for Free Trade Agreement with Jordan

The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, on behalf of the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today introduced legislation to implement the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement (FTA) and related agreements on labour cooperation and the environment.

“Farmers know that our government is working hard to open up markets around the world so that they can sell more products to more customers,” said Minister Ritz. “We are building a strong relationship between Canada and Jordan, and today’s announcement will boost the bottom line for Canadian farm families.”

“The Canada-Jordan FTA, once implemented, will open doors to this growing economy and give Canada a foothold in the broader Middle East and North African market,” said Minister Day.

Upon implementation, the FTA will eliminate tariffs on over 99 percent (by value) of recent Canadian exports to Jordan, directly benefiting Canadian exporters. Key sectors in Canada that will benefit from this immediate duty-free access include forestry, manufacturing, and agricultural products and agri-food such as pulses, frozen potato products and beef. Canadian companies are global leaders in these sectors.

The parallel agreements on labour and environment will help ensure progress on labour rights and environmental protection.

The agreement on labour cooperation commits both countries to respecting the core labour principles and rights of the International Labour Organization’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The agreement on the environment commits the two parties to pursuing high levels of environmental protection, enforcing their domestic environmental laws effectively and ensuring that they do not relax these laws to encourage trade or investment.

In less than four years, the Government of Canada has opened doors to Canadian business by concluding new free trade agreements with the states of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein), Colombia, Peru, Jordan and Panama.

Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Jordan totalled $92 million in 2008.

More: Prime Minister Harper’s administration is on a roll today.

Canada and India Advance Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

See official press release

Canada and India took the next step toward a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), as the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and Shri Anand Sharma, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, today signed papers to establish a joint study group.

The signing of this memorandum of understanding was witnessed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and India’s Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

“We have seen significant progress since my first visit to India in January, where we announced the initiation of discussions. India has been most supportive. The creation of this joint study group marks an important step forward in our discussions,” said Minister Day.

“A comprehensive economic partnership agreement would help expand trade, open doors for Canadian exporters, encourage economic growth and create jobs in both our countries.”

The joint study group will be comprised of officials from both Canada and India. It will look at key sectors of interest and the possible parameters of a CEPA.

The group is expected to finalize its report within six months. A CEPA with India could deliver commercial benefits to many sectors of the Canadian economy, including forest products, nickel, aircraft, electrical machinery, fish and seafood products and agricultural products.

The Government of Canada held public consultations from March to April 2009 to seek input from Canadians on developing a CEPA with India.

This is Minister Day’s third visit to India since January. In September, the Minister opened the new trade office in Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat. With a total of eight trade offices in India, the Government of Canada has created one of Canada’s most extensive trade networks anywhere in the world.

Canadian two-way merchandise trade with India reached an all-time high of $4.6 billion in 2008, up 22.5 percent over 2007. Merchandise exports to India in 2008 totalled $2.4 billion—an impressive 35-percent increase over the year before—and the commercial relationship between the two countries continues to grow. From January to August 2009 alone, Canada’s exports to India were up by three percent despite the effects of the global economic downturn.

Related posts:

1. Video: Toronto, Canada Supports Iranian People,
   Obama no “meddling”
2. Reuters: U.S. reverses stance on treaty to regulate arms trade
3. Obama’s Iran Policy Offers the Bush Policies to Iran–in Person
4. Day 12: Iran Uprising on Twitter:”hell on earth… ppl thrown off bridges, hundreds with clubs beating everyone like animals… Obama Help Us! Obama Help Us!”