Final push for Pacific Rim pact set for end of September

The study, authored by C Fred Bergsten, founding director of the Peterson Institute for worldwide Economics, argues that India’s competitiveness problem is compounded by its absence from the world’s new mega-regional trade agreements, especially the 12-nation TPP and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Harper said securing Canadian access to fast-growing Asian markets was the most important part of the deal. The TPP would cover 40 percent of the global economy.

A new round of talks last month in Hawaii failed to bring about an agreement.

Trudeau said it was irresponsible that Harper “randomly” raised the auto sector during a leaders’ debate, and that it underscores the closed-door nature of the talks.

The Canadian auto-parts industry has been built up and sustained through a series of trade agreements, starting with the 1965 Canada-U.S. Auto Pact, which required that vehicle makers produce $1 in value-added production in Canada for $1 worth of vehicles they sold here.

Mulcair said it was one more example of how Harper’s policies have hurt the manufacturing sector, costing it 400,000 jobs.

Canada and Mexico, both home to major auto plants, are angry that the United States wants to let Japan export cars to North America with substantial content from non-TPP nations.

Political analysts have also pointed to a need to strike a deal before the national focus in the United States shifts later this year to the 2016 presidential election, as politicians in the country will find it hard to concentrate on TPP issues.

“So those parts will completely wipe out our industry”, he added.

She said governments have learnt from past ISDS’s and will include stricter terms in future deals such as the TPP because its in their best interests to protect their sovereignty.

Trade lawyer Lawrence Herman, of Herman and Associates, said Harper’s comments are a sign that “Canadian auto and parts manufacturers will certainly be getting less in the TPP than what they got in NAFTA”, the North American Free Trade Agreement.