This briefing package provided to the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade for their appearance before the Standing Committee on International Trade on June 4, 2021 is disclosed pursuant to the Access to Information Act which requires federal institutions to proactively publish various types of information that would be of interest to the public since June 21, 2019.

Since 2001, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has conducted an annual survey on behalf of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to identify and quantify the U.S. Government's trade capacity building (TCB) activities in developing countries and transitional economies. Trade capacity building programs help developing countries to strengthen economic policies, remove trade barriers, and build well-functioning economic, political, and legal institutions. As a result, TCB programs help promote economic growth, reduce poverty, and sustain support for trade liberalization. The United States Government, through a variety of Departments and Agencies, implements trade capacity building programs in areas including: facilitating the flow of goods and services across borders, participation in trade negotiations, implementation of trade agreements, economic responsiveness to trade opportunities, and private sector development and competitiveness.

From April 27, 2022 to June 27, 2022, the Government of Canada invited stakeholders to share their views on existing regulatory barriers impeding trade domestically and internationally through the Let’s Talk Federal Regulations consultation platform. Regulatory stakeholders were invited to identify opportunities to align and cooperate on regulations with other governments, regulatory barriers impeding trade and supply chains, and suggestions on potential workplan items for Canadian Free Trade Agreement Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT), Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC), Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) and Agile Nations Regulatory Cooperation Network. The comments received are being used to inform Canada’s position in these regulatory cooperation tables.

From August 22, 2022, to September 30, 2022, the Government of Canada invited stakeholders to share their views to help inform the development of the Competitiveness Assessment Tool (CAT). The CAT is being developed to assist federal regulators to assess the impacts of their regulations on the competitiveness of Canadian businesses. As regulators are developing or updating regulations to meet the objectives of the individual regulations (e.g., protecting the environment, health and safety), the CAT outlines considerations to limit unintended impacts on the competitiveness of Canadian businesses. The CAT brings into one ‘checklist’ key considerations that Canadian businesses told us can create negative impacts on competitiveness. The intent of this tool would be for regulators to identify opportunities to improve competitiveness at any stage.

The Relationship between Government-related Rumors and the Public’s Subjective Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Moderating Role of Trust in Government

Oil prices are declining for the second week as OPEC+ considers boosting production. Brent crude hovers near $62, while WTI is below $60. Market is influenced by US job growth, US-China trade talks, and Iran tensions.

Survey data on public attitudes towards Brexit in the United Kingdom from 2017-2020. 10-wave survey tracker data on how attitudes towards Brexit developed in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum, including questions on identification as "Leavers" and "Remainers", consequences of Brexit for the country and the individual, as well as the government's handling of Brexit. Respondents in each wave of the tracker are a nationally-representative sample of the British adult population. The 10 tracker surveys were conducted between 25 April 2017- 10 January 2020. The surveys were conducted by YouGov.In the referendum on 23 June 2016 voters gave the British government a mandate for Britain to be the first country to ever leave the EU. Yet, the options of 'leave' or 'remain' do not give clear guidance as to what kind of Brexit people want or will accept. At the heart of this research project is a question of huge importance to policy-makers: which negotiation outcomes will be considered legitimate by the British public? The negotiations ahead involve an array of complex policy questions, including the much debated trade-off over whether the government should prioritise controlling the inflow of EU immigrants or preferential trade agreements with the EU. But there are many other policy choices that relate to EU budget contributions, EU subsidies, financial services, jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and so on. None of these featured on the referendum ballot, nor are they issues that most people gave much thought to in advance of the referendum. This project therefore aims to shed light on the question of what the Prime Minister's repeated dictum - 'Brexit Means Brexit' - actually means to ordinary people. What expectations do voters, both Leavers and Remainers, have of Brexit, what process do they want the negotiations to take and ultimately what outcome do they want? We also aim to advance our broader knowledge of how people form policy attitudes. Alongside self-interest, the dominant explanation of attitude formation is that people rely on informational short-cuts, typically cues from political parties. But the EU referendum is a situation in which the two largest parties - Labour and the Conservatives - were openly split internally before the vote and are still divided on the nature of Brexit. We argue that people are also responsive to other cues. These are both social and political in nature. The former are cues about what other types of people in similar social groups think. The latter are based around political divisions based on new opinion based groups formed around the distinction between Leavers and Remainers. Our aim is to thus gather new information on people's views about the Brexit negotiations, but also shed light on what types of social and political cues shape these opinions. In close collaboration with the 'UK in a Changing Europe' programme, we will disseminate information on people's expectations of Brexit by focusing on three crucial questions: What, Why and With What Consequence. i) What do people expect of Brexit, what process do they want the negotiations to take and what are their preferred outcomes? ii) Why, and how, do people arrive at positions on these complex policy issues? iii) What are the consequences of these expectations and preferences for the negotiation positions of policy-makers and the legitimacy of the Brexit outcome? To address these three core questions, we make use of state-of-the-art survey and experimental methods in collaboration with YouGov, a leading online polling company. These methods include 1) conjoint analysis, an innovative experimental design that enables us to determine how people value different features of complex Brexit trade-offs; 2) survey experiments that allow us to causally examine how different in-group cues affect opinions, and 3) a three-wave survey panel, with an oversample of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, that allows us to study the dynamics of public opinion over the course of the Brexit negotiations, as well as heterogeneity in opinions by social group and national identity. We aim to contribute to the public debate on Brexit, through a series of on-going public events, briefings, blog posts and media appearances, and also contribute to the scholarly debate on how citizens form opinions on complex policy issues. The surveys were conducted by YouGov using online polling. YouGov conducts its public opinion surveys online using Active Sampling, using quota sampling of its panel of over 1 registered British users. The panel includes of over 1 million British adults to take part in their surveys, recruited from a host of different sources, including via standard advertising, and strategic partnerships with a broad range of websites. For nationally representative samples, such as the ones used in this dataset, YouGov draws a sub-sample of the panel that is representative of British adults in terms of age, gender, social class and education, and invites this sub-sample to complete a survey. The final data is statistically weighted to the national profile of all adults aged 18+ including by how respondents voted at the previous election, how respondents voted at the EU referendum and their level of political interest.

Attitudes in the United Kingdom towards the EU. Topics: EU image; awareness of the following initiatives: European Health Insurance Card, Bathing Water Report, Blue Flag Guide, European Arrest Warrant; personal importance of benefits from each of the aforementioned issues; impact on personal image of the EU; knowledge test on the EU: right of EU citizens to travel to or study in other EU countries, decrease of mobile phone charges for travelers within the EU, existence of strict food-safety standards; estimated percentage of the UK’s gross national income going towards the EU budget; assessment of the economic benefit-cost ratio of being in the EU; assessment of the influence of the UK government on EU legislation; impact of the influence of the UK government on EU legislation on personal attitude towards the UK’s EU membership; attitude towards selected statements on the UK’s EU membership: consumers benefit from European Single Market, improved working conditions, cleaner environment, more say in global trade negotiations; attitude towards the UK not being part of the European Single Market; assessment of the role of the EU in: tackling climate change, protecting human rights, global poverty, security of energy supplies, global terrorism, financial crisis; assessment of the presentation of the EU in the national media as positive; self-rated knowledge about the European Union, its policies and institutions; assessment of the information available on the European Union as simple and clear; desire for additional information on the EU; interest in clearer information on the EU; responsible body to keep citizens informed about the EU and its decisions; participation in the European Parliament election in 2004; intention to vote in the next European elections. Demography: sex; age; age at end of education; occupation; professional position; region; type of community. Additionally coded was: respondent ID; interviewer ID; language of the interview; country; date of interview; time of the beginning of the interview; duration of the interview; weighting factor. Einstellung gegenüber der EU. Persönliches Interesse an der EU und an Informationsmaterial über die EU. Themen: Image der EU; Kenntnis der europäischen Krankenversicherungskarte, des EU-Badewasser-Reports, des Blaue Flaggen-Führers und des European Arrest Warrant; Bedeutung dieser Initiativen für den Befragten; Einfluss dieser europäischen Initiativen auf das Image der EU; Kenntnis der Rechte von EU-Bürgern ins europäischen Ausland reisen und dort studieren zu dürfen; Kenntnis der Reduzierung der Roaming-Gebühren innerhalb der EU und der strikten EU-Standards für Lebensmittelsicherheit; Einschätzung des Anteils des nationalen Bruttosozialprodukts, der in die EU-Kasse einfließt; mehr ökonomische Vorteile oder Nachteile durch die EU-Mitgliedschaft; vermuteter Einfluss des Vereinigten Königreiches auf die EU-Gesetzgebung; Einstellung zur EU-Mitgliedschaft, bei einer angenommenen Einflussnahme des Vereinigten Königreiches auf die Gesetzgebung; Zustimmung zu Aussagen bezüglich der EU-Mitgliedschaft (Europäischer Binnenmarkt nützt den Verbrauchern im Vereinigten Königreich, verbessert die Arbeitsbedingungen, sauberere Umwelt, mehr Einfluss des Vereinigten Königreichs im Welthandel); Beurteilung des Verlustes der Vorteile des Freihandels bei einer angenommenen Nicht-Mitgliedschaft in der EU; Einschätzung der Rolle der EU hinsichtlich: Klimawandel, Schutz der Menschenrechte, globale Armut, Sicherung der Energieversorgung, globaler Terrorismus, Finanzkrise; Einstellung zur Darstellung der EU im britischen Fernsehen, im Radio und in der Presse; Selbsteinschätzung der Kenntnisse über die europäische Politik und Institutionen; Verständlichkeit der Informationen über die EU; Wunsch nach weiteren EU-Informationen; Interesse an EU-Informationen, wenn diese verständlicher wären; Institution, die über EU und EU-Entscheidungen informieren sollte (EU-Institutionen, die Britische Regierung, Gemeinde, politische Parteien, Presse und Fernsehen, EU-Informationszentren in der UK); vermutete Dominanz der EU in bestimmten Politikbereichen; Wahlbeteiligung bei der Europawahl 2004 und Wahlabsicht bei der nächsten Wahl. Demographie: Geschlecht; Alter; Alter bei Beendigung der Ausbildung; Beruf; berufliche Stellung; Region; Urbanisierungsgrad. Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: Befragten-ID; Interviewer-ID; Interviewsprache; Land; Interviewdatum; Interviewdauer (Interviewbeginn und Interviewende); Gewichtungsfaktor.

Einstellung gegenüber der EU. Persönliches Interesse an der EU und an Informationsmaterial über die EU. Themen: Image der EU; Kenntnis der europäischen Krankenversicherungskarte, des EU-Badewasser-Reports, des Blaue Flaggen-Führers und des European Arrest Warrant; Bedeutung dieser Initiativen für den Befragten; Einfluss dieser europäischen Initiativen auf das Image der EU; Kenntnis der Rechte von EU-Bürgern ins europäischen Ausland reisen und dort studieren zu dürfen; Kenntnis der Reduzierung der Roaming-Gebühren innerhalb der EU und der strikten EU-Standards für Lebensmittelsicherheit; Einschätzung des Anteils des nationalen Bruttosozialprodukts, der in die EU-Kasse einfließt; mehr ökonomische Vorteile oder Nachteile durch die EU-Mitgliedschaft; vermuteter Einfluss des Vereinigten Königreiches auf die EU-Gesetzgebung; Einstellung zur EU-Mitgliedschaft, bei einer angenommenen Einflussnahme des Vereinigten Königreiches auf die Gesetzgebung; Zustimmung zu Aussagen bezüglich der EU-Mitgliedschaft (Europäischer Binnenmarkt nützt den Verbrauchern im Vereinigten Königreich, verbessert die Arbeitsbedingungen, sauberere Umwelt, mehr Einfluss des Vereinigten Königreichs im Welthandel); Beurteilung des Verlustes der Vorteile des Freihandels bei einer angenommenen Nicht-Mitgliedschaft in der EU; Einschätzung der Rolle der EU hinsichtlich: Klimawandel, Schutz der Menschenrechte, globale Armut, Sicherung der Energieversorgung, globaler Terrorismus, Finanzkrise; Einstellung zur Darstellung der EU im britischen Fernsehen, im Radio und in der Presse; Selbsteinschätzung der Kenntnisse über die europäische Politik und Institutionen; Verständlichkeit der Informationen über die EU; Wunsch nach weiteren EU-Informationen; Interesse an EU-Informationen, wenn diese verständlicher wären; Institution, die über EU und EU-Entscheidungen informieren sollte (EU-Institutionen, die Britische Regierung, Gemeinde, politische Parteien, Presse und Fernsehen, EU-Informationszentren in der UK); vermutete Dominanz der EU in bestimmten Politikbereichen; Wahlbeteiligung bei der Europawahl 2004 und Wahlabsicht bei der nächsten Wahl. Demographie: Geschlecht; Alter; Alter bei Beendigung der Ausbildung; Beruf; berufliche Stellung; Region; Urbanisierungsgrad. Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: Befragten-ID; Interviewer-ID; Interviewsprache; Land; Interviewdatum; Interviewdauer (Interviewbeginn und Interviewende); Gewichtungsfaktor. Attitudes in the United Kingdom towards the EU. Topics: EU image; awareness of the following initiatives: European Health Insurance Card, Bathing Water Report, Blue Flag Guide, European Arrest Warrant; personal importance of benefits from each of the aforementioned issues; impact on personal image of the EU; knowledge test on the EU: right of EU citizens to travel to or study in other EU countries, decrease of mobile phone charges for travelers within the EU, existence of strict food-safety standards; estimated percentage of the UK’s gross national income going towards the EU budget; assessment of the economic benefit-cost ratio of being in the EU; assessment of the influence of the UK government on EU legislation; impact of the influence of the UK government on EU legislation on personal attitude towards the UK’s EU membership; attitude towards selected statements on the UK’s EU membership: consumers benefit from European Single Market, improved working conditions, cleaner environment, more say in global trade negotiations; attitude towards the UK not being part of the European Single Market; assessment of the role of the EU in: tackling climate change, protecting human rights, global poverty, security of energy supplies, global terrorism, financial crisis; assessment of the presentation of the EU in the national media as positive; self-rated knowledge about the European Union, its policies and institutions; assessment of the information available on the European Union as simple and clear; desire for additional information on the EU; interest in clearer information on the EU; responsible body to keep citizens informed about the EU and its decisions; participation in the European Parliament election in 2004; intention to vote in the next European elections. Demography: sex; age; age at end of education; occupation; professional position; region; type of community. Additionally coded was: respondent ID; interviewer ID; language of the interview; country; date of interview; time of the beginning of the interview; duration of the interview; weighting factor.

Global Push to Talk market size is expected to reach $48.85 billion by 2029 at 13.3%, segmented as by technology, 3g, 4g, wi-fi, other technologies