Mixed views amid BC’s ongoing Indo-Pacific trade mission

In an effort to advance the province’s new “Trade Diversification Strategy,” British Columbia Premier David Eby is spearheading a trade mission to Asia where officials hope to capitalize on the world’s fastest-growing economic region and, as an anticipated result, grow BC businesses, create jobs, and strengthen supply chains – a move conjuring both support and criticism.

This mission kicked off last week when Jagrup Brar, Minister of State for Trade traveled to Vietnam to open a Trade and Invest BC office. He then joined the Premier in Japan Saturday alongside Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation; and Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs Economic Development and Innovation.

The four bureaucrats will head west to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Wednesday before Eby travels south to Singapore Saturday for another four days.

Five additional bureaucrats not mentioned in the province’s initial press release are accompanying the Premier, the ministry told Coastal Front.

“BC has so much to offer the world,” Eby said Thursday, highlighting a talented workforce, sustainable products and services, and an “abundance of the natural resources, technology, and energy needed to power the clean economy.”

Officials haven’t specifically detailed how the mission’s success will be measured, however, the Japan portion was presented as a win Monday when officials highlighted a renewed agreement between the province and a Japanese investment corporation as a result of the visit.

Specifically, BC signed a three-year renewal of the Memorandum of Cooperation with the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN) to deliver what it calls “innovative and clean solutions to future transportation projects and priorities.”

Operating under Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, JOIN invests in transportation and urban development projects outside the country.

Calling the move a “key pillar of our StrongerBC Economic Plan,” Brar said he anticipates “exciting projects” will come from the agreement. Discussions between BC and JOIN included the “creation and optimization” of railways, ferries, port terminals, and airports.

Mission’s efficacy difficult to quantify

While officials reiterate the necessity of the eastbound endeavor, feelings among British Columbians with respect to the mission – which range from “useless global gallivanting” to “essential economic strategy” – are mixed.

The efficacy of such trade missions is difficult to quantify.

Critics highlight a study spearheaded by the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business that suggests – despite ongoing claims made by officials – Canadian trade missions have not historically increased trade.

The study – titled Do trade missions increase trade? – looked at federal trade missions between 1994 and 2005, analyzing trade data from one, two, and four years after, as well as data current during the study’s publication 13-years-ago. It concluded the exchange of goods and services did not significantly increase as a result of missions.

Province follows Canada, US lead

BC honing in on the region comes as bureaucrats from all Five Eyes countries establish a presence in the area, such as Canada’s federal government which previously announced it will funnel megalithic sums of money into the region.

Noting the “significant and profound role” Canada will play in the region’s future, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly launched Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy in November 2022.

The strategy will inject more than $2.2 billion into the region over the next five years. This includes massive taxpayer-funded spending of:

• $721 million to “promote peace, resilience, and security in the region” by, to list two examples, expanding Canadian naval presence and increasing Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) participation in regional military exercises.

• $245 million to “foster open, rules-based trade and support Canada’s economic prosperity,” which includes opening Canada’s first agriculture office in the region.

• $262 million to “forge stronger people-to-people ties” with the Indo-Pacific region, including $100 million in Feminist International Assistance Policy development funding in the region.

• $913 million toward “building a clean future,” which includes enhancing measures against illegal and unreported fishing.

• $147 million to “strengthen its presence, visibility, and influence in the region,” including a new office for the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada.

‘Increasingly disruptive global power’

Speaking about the strategy at a luncheon hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade last week, Joly referred to China as “the elephant in the room,” noting — in cold war-esque language — the strategy can help businesses move away from the “increasingly disruptive global power.”

“It’s not complicated, you just don’t meddle in our democracy,” she said.

Mentioning China more than 50 times, the long anticipated strategy’s 26-page document was released one month after United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken traveled to Canada to meet with Joly.

Federal officials regularly referring to China as a “disruptive global power,” the deployment of Canadian warships to the Indo-Pacific region, and the overall hand-in-hand approach Canada is taking with the US prompts concerns that the strategy is more intended to confront Beijing and assist Uncle Sam than it is to “support growth, prosperity, and support” for Canadians.

“The Indo-Pacific region represents incredible challenges and opportunities both for the peace and prosperity of the globe,” said Vice Admiral Bob Auchterlonie, Canadian Joint Operations Command.

“The CAF is committed to taking an active role alongside our friends and partners. Our sizable contribution highlights the enduring commitment of the CAF to ensure that the rules-based international order is respected.”

Indo-Pacific strategies formed by other G7 countries fall in line with US policy.

As for BC’s murky trade mission in the Indo-Pacific region, Eby also noted tensions between the US and China as being “front of mind” for British Columbians during an interview with Post Media.

“When we look at the war between Russia and Ukraine and the implications that has had on global trade patterns… we look at tensions between China and the United States and China and Taiwan, certainly those are front of mind for many British Columbians,” he said.

As for the mission’s budget, the province hasn’t disclosed a number.

“Final costs will be released after all expenses are tabulated,” the ministry told Coastal Front.