By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The ongoing American trade war is seeing BC pivot away from the problematic trade relationship with Canada’s southern neighbour instead ramping up the focus on Asia where more than 41 per cent of BC’s merchandise exports – totalling approximately $22.4 billion in 2024 – are already directed.
In early June BC Premier David Eby is leading a trade mission to Asia with business leaders and key government officials to “strengthen partnerships, increase investment, diversify trade and create good jobs,” the Province said.
“Our largest trading partner has become increasingly unreliable, so now is the time to expand international markets for BC goods and develop deeper bonds with other countries,” Eby said.
“This trade mission is about showcasing all that BC has to offer, deepening our relationship with major customers, supporting good jobs here at home and building our province’s position as the economic engine of a stronger and more independent Canada.”
The trade mission takes place from June 1-10 and includes: Japan (Tokyo and Osaka); Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur); and South Korea (Seoul). Eby will be accompanied by Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food, and Paul Choi, parliamentary secretary for Asia-Pacific trade, along with representatives from BC businesses and research universities.
“Farmers and food processors run an economic engine for the province, creating more than 40,000 jobs and nearly $6 billion in export sales every year,” Popham said. “I am excited to showcase the best of what BC has to offer on an international stage while opening up new opportunities for trade, growth and innovation.”
The team will work on relationship building to support growth in existing trade as well as focusing on new trade and investment in key sectors, including surging demand in Asia for clean energy, BC wood and forestry products, technology, LNG and critical minerals, and agricultural products such as halal foods and seafood.
The Province said the mission builds on BC’s trade diversification strategy and is a followup to the Premier’s trade mission to the region in 2023.
The Indo-Pacific region is the world’s fastest-growing economic region, home to six of Canada’s top 13 trading partners and by 2040 is expected to account for more than half the global economy. The region encompasses 40 economies, over four billion people and $47.19 trillion in economic activity.
