Xi Jingping

Thursday September 10, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 10, 2020

Speed of coronavirus vaccine race ‘crazy’ and unsafe, scientists warn

Leading scientists across the world say rushing the development of a coronavirus vaccine to bring it to the public before the end of this year is unrealistic, unsafe, and even “crazy”. 

February 28, 2020

Despite reports from across the world suggesting a vaccine could be ready in weeks – particularly from the United States, where “Operation Warp Speed” reportedly has officials on standby to distribute the vaccine by October, ahead of the presidential election –  experts are increasingly concerned that the rhetoric is in no way matched by the data. 

None of the leading vaccine candidates have yet completed clinical trials, the regulatory bodies who licence vaccines are already struggling to cope with coronavirus demands, and questions over manufacture and distribution haven’t been considered, experts say. 

Professor Beate Kampmann, director of the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told The Telegraph: “This timeline is neither realistic, nor is it sensible to put this kind of pressure on the analysis of important trials. It is highly politicised, and I am not a fan of this approach.”   

April 11, 2019

She said that it was essential for all new vaccines to go through comprehensive clinical trials. 

In normal times, a vaccine takes up to ten years to develop, including several years of testing. Under the current plans outlined by politicians in the UK, Russia, and the United States, this has been crunched to less than 12 months. 

“It is extremely unwise to proceed with licensing any vaccine without a proven track record for safety and efficacy, in any country,” Professor Kampmann said.

Life in a Pandemic

“If they are found to be useless or even dangerous, you might jeopardise the entire vaccine programme. The more this moves from science into politics, the more it becomes a little crazy.”     

The World Health Organization said on Friday it does not expect to see a vaccine until mid-2021, and it is working with experts to define the criteria for declaring a vaccine successful.  On the same day, US newspapers also carried reports of a planned joint statement from some of the big pharmaceutical companies, pledging that they will not release a coronavirus vaccine until its usefulness and safety are proven. 

At the same time, the head of ‘Operation Warp Speed’ in the US, Dr Moncef Slaoui, hit back at accusations of political influence, telling Science Magazine he would resign if there was “undue interference”. (The Telegraph) 

 

Thursday January 16, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 16, 2020

‘Canada should be worried’: Canadian exporters may become collateral damage of U.S-China trade deal

June 28, 2019

The signing of a “Phase One” U.S.-China trade deal this week is expected to create a brief respite from uncertainty for the global economy — but that’s unlikely to last as long as President Donald Trump is in the White House, analysts say.

What’s more, Canadian exporters could become collateral damage of a deal that will see China commit to purchasing vast amounts of U.S. agricultural products and other goods.

Top officials are slated to sign the pact in Washington on Wednesday following two years of trade strife in which the U.S. slapped tariffs on nearly two-thirds of Chinese imports and Beijing targeted more than half of all goods purchased from the U.S.

May 11, 2019

Though the official text of the deal has yet to be released, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has said China will purchase an additional US$200 billion in American goods over the next two years, including US$40 to US$50 billion in agricultural products.

The upending of trade flows as a result of such a commitment could create painful headaches for Canadian agricultural producers.

“The reason Canada should be worried about this is what is China actually agreeing to do?” said Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “Are they agreeing to open their market for everybody? Or are they agreeing to reorient their purchases away from everybody else and toward American purchases? That matters.”

Animated!

Indeed, Canadian canola producers are already experiencing the chill of lost sales to the powerful Chinese market — which once accepted 40 per cent of their exports — after Beijing blocked all purchases of the oilseed. Though officials cited pest concerns, the move was widely viewed as retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition request. Meantime, Canadian soybean producers, having experienced a brief but dramatic spike in sales after China placed tariffs on U.S. beans, also saw sales to the superpower bottom out after the Wanzhou arrest.

Though Lighthizer has said the pact will be compliant with World Trade Organization rules, the Chinese purchasing commitments have also raised concerns about discrimination against some markets in favour of the U.S. The WTO’s “most favoured nation” rule requires all trading partners to be treated equally unless a full free trade agreement is forged. The U.S.-China deal covers only a limited range of goods. (Financial Post) 

 

Friday March 29, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 29, 2019

Canada’s canola conundrum has Trudeau pinned between China and U.S.

March 1, 2019

Trade diversification was supposed to make Canada less dependent on the U.S. But as the canola dispute shows, it has had a perverse effect. It has made this country more dependent on China.

Beijing’s decision to ban two major Canadian companies from exporting canola to China has Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government rattled.

Canola is Canada’s largest grain export after wheat. China is Canada’s number one market for canola. Last year Canadian canola seed exports to China were worth about $2.7 billion.

In short, the ban is a big deal — particularly since it is accompanied by a reluctance among Chinese importers to sign any new canola contracts with Canadians.

The ban has lowered canola prices and left Canadian farmers unsure of whether to plant a new crop this spring.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Animated!

Until now, canola has been the poster boy for Canadian efforts to diversify trade away from the U.S. and toward the new markets of Asia. A rapeseed variant both developed in and named for Canada, canola is a hometown success story.

Appropriately perhaps, Canada is the world’s largest producer of canola. Virtually all of it is exported, with China, Japan and Mexico being the top three destinations.

When Finance Minister Bill Morneau wrote in his 2017 budget about focusing on technological change in Canada’s agri-food industry, canola was almost certainly one of the examples he had in mind. When Trudeau mused about free trade with China, canola was front and centre.

But as Canada’s long and complicated history with the U.S. shows, trade relations come at a cost. (Continued: Toronto Star)