Transparency and Participation in the National Trade Policy Process: the Canadian example

1. Transparency and Participation in the National Trade Policy Process: the Canadian example Robert Wolfe Associate Professor School of Policy Studies Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada wolfer@post.queensu.ca Queen's University School of Policy Studies

2. Is the Doha rhetoric enough? 10.  … we are committed to making the WTO's operations more transparent, including through more effective and prompt dissemination of information, and to improve dialogue with the public. We shall therefore at the national and multilateral levels continue to promote abetter public understanding of the WTO and to communicate the benefits of a liberal, rules-based multilateral trading system. • And does Sutherland Chapter V miss the point? • Information in Geneva VITAL • legitimacy of WTO may not depend on organizations that pay most attention Queen's University School of Policy Studies

3. Premises: • Trade liberalization not the only objective: human agency, “development as freedom” (Sen) • Participation at home contributes to sustainable development (Cosbey) by ensuring consideration of environment social cohesion and growth • Transparency ensures accountability in a more diffuse policy process Queen's University School of Policy Studies

4. Key dimensions for trade policy • accurate, objective and timely informationpromotes transparency and accountability and enables citizens to participate in the public policy process. • Consultation processes seek the views of individuals or groups on policies that affect them directly or in which they have a significant interest. Queen's University School of Policy Studies

5. Some principles • New legal texts must be congruent with the informal practices and mutual expectations of actors • Officials cannot make up their country’s “interests”—learn from citizens and firms engaged in trade as importers and exporters; producers and consumers. • What problems do actors encounter? What new opportunities do they wish to pursue? • Where are rules as codified in WTO discordant with daily practices in the trading system? • How are market practices interfering with the aspirations of citizens? (WHOSE interests are reflected in policy?) Queen's University School of Policy Studies

6. Transparency and the TPRM • What if the TPRM asked more directly about domestic policy transparency and consultation mechanisms? • Report itself a valuable source of information • What might first report on Canada find? • What lessons should we draw for the TPRM process? Queen's University School of Policy Studies

7. yes Can TPRM do more? • Canada 2003: The Government also consults regularly with the public to muster support for trade policy. Interested parties are invited to submit their views regarding specific WTO trade and investment-related issues thanks to a "Consultations with Canadians" website. Queen's University School of Policy Studies

8. Canadian consultation industry growing for more than 20 years • 1999 (est) 300 public consultations, from national climate change process to dialogue with rural Canadians about their priorities. • Summer 2004, province of Ontario consulting its citizens on teacher workloads, mandatory retirement, rent control, urban sprawl, rural communities, drinking water, and new securities legislation Queen's University School of Policy Studies

9. History of trade policy consultations • GATT: tariffs seen as “budget secrecy • but industry lobbyists were consulted anyway • Tokyo Round (1970s) requires consultation with provinces and business plus coordination of the federal public service on trade policy • Canada-US FTA and Uruguay Round (1980s) move “behind the border”: changes demands for consultation • WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle (1999) • post-MAI • extensive public participation in preparations and then attendance Queen's University School of Policy Studies

10. The foundation • Data is the essential factual basis for policy debate • Statistics Canada is a leading statistical agency Queen's University School of Policy Studies

11. Information on departmental website • Discussion papers • Briefings • newsletters • publication of legislation and regulations • negotiating texts • submissions to the WTO on disputes in which Canada is involved Queen's University School of Policy Studies

12. Trade policy consultations • Wide range of participants who can contribute useful information, and/or whose support will be needed. • Other government departments, provinces, municipalities • Broad and sectoral industry associations, civil society organizations, firms, academics • Citizens • Canadian mechanisms to engage all of them Queen's University School of Policy Studies

13. Who should be consulted, and how? • Technical information can be sought by officials from experts or economic actors. • Exploring compromise on a difficult issue can be done in more broadly based multistakeholder settings where all sides are able to listen to contending points of view. • Trying to build a consensus might best be done in Parliamentary hearings. Queen's University School of Policy Studies

14. Why are Canadian consultations so elaborate? • “behind the border” negotiators need domestic information; jurisdiction and authority widely dispersed; engage a wider “public” • Consultations especially contribute to policy analysis when available expertise is limited. • Example: in agriculture and in services, diffuse not concentrated groups, and individuals, so new mechanisms needed • Growing trade interest of citizens and civil society organizations—public concerns political not economic; governance not instrumental Queen's University School of Policy Studies

15. Challenges? • Difficult work of detailed negotiations does not excite public interest, except from farm groups • Changing nature of consultations, or problem adapting mechanisms to new players involved • Cost of participation, for proponents and opponents of liberalized trade. • Principles broadly agreed, in Canada. • Contributing analysis takes money and/or expertise not available to all groups Queen's University School of Policy Studies

16. Substantive questions for a TPRM • Do consultations alter the way government perceives “public interest” or is policy still dominated by whoever has the ear of government? • Are consultations used to help build consensus among stakeholders, narrowly or broadly defined? • provide information to clarify negotiating objectives • Do they help negotiators understand what citizens want? • obtain information, for example on offensive interests and defensive concerns in the services negotiations Queen's University School of Policy Studies

17. Process questions • frequency of consultations • resources allocated • numbers of citizens involved • participant satisfaction Queen's University School of Policy Studies

18. Other process indicators • Quality of statistics • General WTO regulatory transparency • Publication of laws and regulations • Notification of new measures to trading partners • Independent administration and adjudication • Availability of negotiating proposals, dispute settlement submissions • Opportunities to participate/comment Queen's University School of Policy Studies

19. Risks of more in TPRM? • Imagines governance relationships (between citizens and the state) typical in Canada but not necessarily elsewhere Queen's University School of Policy Studies