Re: Costa Rica’s potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). 

The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is a coalition of national organizations that support a more open and fair international trading environment for the agriculture and agri-food industry. This includes the beef, pork, grains, cereals, pulses, soybeans, and canola, as well as the sugar and processed food industries. The sectors CAFTA represents support over a million jobs in urban and rural communities across Canada. 

CAFTA broadly supports the accession to the CPTPP of Costa Rica, a market economy with a demonstrated commitment to free trade. 

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It is important that the accession process ensure Costa Rica’s compliance with the three Auckland Principles of: 1) preparedness to meet the Agreement’s high standards; 2) a demonstrated pattern of complying with trade commitments and 3) recognition that decisions are dependent on the consensus of the CPTPP Membership.  

For CAFTA members, the attraction of the CPTPP is that most of its members are in the world’s most buoyant economic region. Further, the CPTPP enjoys a deep and broad set of rules, market access commitments, and binding enforcement mechanisms. These are attractive qualities in this time of ongoing trade frictions and a growing weakness of international institutions. 

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Another attractive element is the CPTPP’s fundamental principle, as reaffirmed by trade ministers at their meeting last November in San Francisco – that it should be "dynamic and living" and should "remain the ‘gold standard’ for trade agreements" globally. 

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It is CAFTA’s view that the CPTPP gold standard has been partially undermined by the accession of the United Kingdom, which is preventing market access for Canadian product without scientific justification. Given this negative precedent, it is essential the Government of Canada ensure Costa Rican respect for CPTPP provisions to prevent weakening the CPTPP model and underline the importance of all future applicants meeting the standard of the Auckland Principles.  

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this consultation.  

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Respectfully, 

Michael Harvey 

Executive Director 

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