Canada will overcome ‘slight pause’ in trade talks with Britain, minister says

Canadian Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne performed down Britain’s suspension of commerce talks with the nation final week as he signed agreements with the UK to boost cooperation on innovation, science and synthetic intelligence (AI).

Champagne and Britain’s Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan late on Tuesday signed two agreements in Ottawa to collaborate on creating processing and data dealing with applied sciences wanted to develop AI-linked instruments.

Britain suspended talks on a free commerce cope with Canada final week, saying the pair couldn’t discover a frequent floor for entry to agricultural markets.

“When it comes to how we are going to approach trade, I think that you have proof today… there may be a slight pause there, (but) we’re doubling down in our key relationship,” Champagne instructed Reuters in an interview after the agreements had been signed.

“We have been trading for two centuries, so I have all confidence that we will overcome that,” Champagne added, though he didn’t say when he thought talks may resume.

Donelan, talking in the identical interview, stated the nation is seeking to deepen its relationship with Canada.

The signing of the 2 agreements “highlights the importance of our strategic relationship and the ability of us to work together to maximize potential,” she stated, additionally with out indicating when talks would possibly resume.

Total bilateral commerce in items and providers between the 2 international locations was 25.9 billion kilos ($32.9 billion) within the yr ending June 30, 2023, with Canada the U.Okay.’s 18th greatest buying and selling companion. Britain accounts for two.7 per cent of Canada’s complete bilateral commerce.

(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Steve Scherer, Kirsten Donovan)