OTTAWA - Canada is launching free-trade talks with a major group of southeast Asian countries as it seeks to diversify from China and find new ways of coping with a snarled global supply chain. International Trade Minister Mary Ng announced the opening of formal trade talks late Tuesday with the Association of South East Asian Nations — known as ASEAN — after meeting with representatives of that 10-country bloc. “Our government is committed to opening up and diversifying more markets for Canadian exporters and businesses to grow,” Ng said in an interview. “A small number of stakeholders, especially from the supply-managed agriculture sectors, are skeptical of the benefits of a possible ASEAN-Canada FTA. “We’ve been clear as a government that we will protect supply-managed sectors, and we intend to fulfil that,” said Ng.

Source: thestar November 18, 2021 05:58 UTC