Close X
Sunday, March 2, 2025
ADVT 
National

U.S. bank reform violates NAFTA, Finance Minister Joe Oliver says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 May, 2015 10:29 AM
    NEW YORK — Canada's finance minister says sweeping American bank reforms introduced in the aftermath of the financial crisis violate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
     
    In prepared remarks of a speech delivered Wednesday in New York City, Joe Oliver calls on the U.S. government to change the policy known as the "Volcker rule."
     
    The Volcker rule, adopted in 2010 but has yet to be fully implemented, aims to reduce high-risk trading bets by big banks.
     
    Unless special exemptions are made, however, Oliver said U.S. investors will be at a disadvantage because they won't be permitted to trade in Canadian government debt.
     
    "I believe — with strong legal basis — that this rule violates the terms of the NAFTA agreement," said Oliver's speech, delivered at an event hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
     
    "I hope the United States administration sees that changing the Volcker rule is in its own best interests and that of its biggest trading partner."
     
    In recent years, senior Canadian officials — including former finance minister Jim Flaherty and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney — warned the U.S. government about the Volcker rule's wide-reaching impacts.
     
    Oliver said Americans should have no concerns about Canada's credit standing since its rating is better than that of the U.S. government.
     
    A spokeswoman for Oliver's office said the minister has personally raised his concerns over the Volcker rule in past meetings with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Frustration For Canadians Seeking Help Following Nepal Earthquake

    Frustration For Canadians Seeking Help Following Nepal Earthquake
    Canadians in Nepal and relatives of missing Canadian tourists are expressing frustration with Canada's response to Saturday's massive earthquake, with some complaining they're getting more support from American officials than their own.

    Frustration For Canadians Seeking Help Following Nepal Earthquake

    Internal Senate Report On Residency Surfaces At Duffy Trial But No Details

    Internal Senate Report On Residency Surfaces At Duffy Trial But No Details
    OTTAWA — Mike Duffy's lawyer is considering whether to fight for the release of a politically sensitive audit that the Senate wants kept under wraps.

    Internal Senate Report On Residency Surfaces At Duffy Trial But No Details

    Auditor Takes Aim At First Nations Health, Prisoners And Tax-Credit Oversight

    Auditor Takes Aim At First Nations Health, Prisoners And Tax-Credit Oversight
    Canada's auditor general is taking issue with the quality of health care in remote First Nations communities, lacklustre efforts to rehabilitate prisoners and the dearth of oversight governing boutique tax credits

    Auditor Takes Aim At First Nations Health, Prisoners And Tax-Credit Oversight

    Auditor Slams Feds For Not Properly Tracking Impact Of Tax Credits On Treasury

    Canada's auditor general says parliamentarians and the public they represent have no idea precisely how many billions of dollars the federal treasury foregoes each year through election-friendly tax credits and giveaways.

    Auditor Slams Feds For Not Properly Tracking Impact Of Tax Credits On Treasury

    Friends-Of-Feathers Flock Together To Save Ducklings Imprisoned On Police Patio

    Friends-Of-Feathers Flock Together To Save Ducklings Imprisoned On Police Patio
    Vancouver's finest have hatched a plan to help 10 jail birds fly the coop from police headquarters, and everything turned out ducky in the end.

    Friends-Of-Feathers Flock Together To Save Ducklings Imprisoned On Police Patio

    Rebar Reboot? Tribunal Holds Inquiry Into Imposed Tariffs Hurting B.C. Builders

    Rebar Reboot? Tribunal Holds Inquiry Into Imposed Tariffs Hurting B.C. Builders
    The Canadian International Trade Tribunal imposed added duties and tariffs last year on rebar coming from China, North Korea and Turkey, saying the countries were dumping the product into Canada.

    Rebar Reboot? Tribunal Holds Inquiry Into Imposed Tariffs Hurting B.C. Builders