The Impact of Technological Change in the Canada/U.S. Contex

Robinson, J. Michael

English

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Canada-United States Law JournalVolume 25 | Issue Article 36January 1999Introduction: The Impact of Technological Changeon Developing CountriesJ. Michael RobinsonFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cusljPart of the Transnational Law CommonsThis Speech is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Journals at Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons.It has been accepted for inclusion in Canada-United States Law Journal by an authorized administrator of Case Western Reserve University School ofLaw Scholarly Commons.Recommended CitationJ. Michael Robinson, Introduction: The Impact of Technological Change on Developing Countries, 25 Can.-U.S. L.J. 253 (1999)Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cuslj/vol25/iss/36INTRODUCTIONTHE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE ONDEVELOPING COUNTRIESJ. Michael RobinsonI am Michael Robinson. I am supposed to preside over this session,which has quite a fancy title. I am not exactly sure what it means. It is TheImpact of Technological Change on Developing Countries. I do not thinkthat means that Canada is a developing country in Henry's view, althoughmany Canadians still think it is.Henry has kept the U.S./Canadian balance when he included me as a pre-sider. I hope that does not mean that Henry thinks that Canada either has notechnology to send to developing countries, or Canadians are so ungenerousthat they will not send any to those countries.Let me first introduce the speaker, and then, to give a little bit of a Cana-dian flavour to it, I will make a few comments about what is going on inCanada in this field as far as I understand. I mainly work in the internationalarea in trade, not trade litigation, but buying and selling things, joint venturesand international infrastructure projects, some of which are high-tech.Eric Biel is now Acting Director of the Office of Policy and StrategicPlanning in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Sometimes, we Canadianshave a little problem with that department, but I am sure that is not going tobe relevant to this session. He is currently working in this capacity with theSecretary of Commerce, Mr. William M. Daley, and Administration officialson issues involving international economic policy, which certainly relates toemerging markets.Previously, in 1997, he served as a Special Counselor in the ExecutiveOffice of the President, working with the Trade Counsel to the Senate Fi-nance Committee. Prior to that he was in private practice in Washington withtwo leading firms, Arnold & Porter and Mayer Brown & Platt.His educational background is fascinating. He attended three very im-portant eastern colleges: Johns Hopkins University for undergrad, Yale Law* Mr. Robinson is a senior partner in the Toronto office of Fasken Martineau and isdirector of the firm's International Practice Group. He received his B.A. degree from the Uni-versity of Western Ontario, and his LL.B. from the University of Toronto.1Robinson: Introduction: The Impact of Technological Change on Developing CoPublished by Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons, 1999CANADA-UNITED STATES LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 25:253 1999]School, and then he received a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton Uni-versity.I am going to take my prerogative as presider to say a bit about what isgoing on in Canada. I know Eric is going to be talking not just about tech-nology transfers from the United States to developing countries, but the in-formation technology revolution and what it can mean for many developingcountries and how the United States, and I guess Canada, too, can play a rolein assisting with that.The good news about being a presider is you do not have to write a paper.The bad news is you are not supposed to speak very long, so I will not. I willtell you that I did speak for Canada on venture capital and technologicalchange quite a few years ago and presided over a similar session a couple ofyears ago. So let me just give you a little update on what may have happenedin Canada since that time.As you heard this morning in the discussion on venture capital, our al-phabet soup of government programs, such as DIP, GAP, and GAB, arepretty well gone, and they have been replaced, in part, by our technologypartnerships which those in the trade law area will know got a good slamfrom the WTO recently on the basis that they were too export-oriented. I wasinvolved in the controversy between Embraer of Brazil, who was attackingCanada for subsidies, and Canada, led by Bombardier, who was attackingBrazil for its subsidies.' I think both lost in that one. What we do have still isan interesting phenomena at the Ministry of Economic Development, Tradeand Tourism, our development entity, which is essentially called "CEDA,Inc." They will finance particularly small-to-medium-sized enterprises inbusiness for development-related goods, sales, and service activities andother projects in developing countries. It has been reasonably successful,although perhaps not adequately publicized.The Export Development Corporation (EDC) has newly expanded pow-ers as of five years ago, and it has a sunset clause in its statute, so it is com-ing up for review now. Of course, it is looking for further expanded powerswhich could be of real significance in providing financing for technologytransfers and exports for Canadians. But again, the WTO took a good shot atan aspect of EDC on that aircraft financing decision recently saying that theCanada account, which is sort of a slush fund that EDC can use by tappinginto the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada through a cabinet decision,smelled a little of inappropriate export financing. When Canada said, oh, no,no, no, we only lend at OECD consensus rates, the WTO's response wasprobably appropriate in the circumstances. They said, if you Canadians keep1 See Heather Scoffield, Brazil Skirting Trade Rules, Ottawa Says, GLOBE & MAIL, June3, 1999, at B9.2Canada-United States Law Journal, Vol. 25 [1999], Iss. , Art. 36https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cuslj/vol25/iss/36Robinson-IMPACT OF TECH. CHANGE ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (INTRO) 255telling us that all of your cabinet decisions are secret, and you will not giveus any of the information, what else are we supposed to think? If you just tellus that you are nice guys and do not subsidize your exports, but do not giveus any evidence, we are not going to believe you. That one has not quite beensolved yet.Where is the private capital in Canada for financing technology exportsand transfers or joint ventures abroad? Well, it just is not there, as youprobably heard. Our labor-sponsored funds, which are an interesting venturecapital initiative in Canada that you heard described this morning, are havingenough trouble finding the expertise to make the start-up investments do-mestically and indeed are not making enough of them. They are sitting onexcess capital which they cannot get out. They have almost no expertise fordoing anything offshore, which I know because I have been banging on theirdoors on behalf of clients for some time. It is a bit of a desert in that respect.I will leave you with one story. People have been talking about bankbashing in Canada, complaining about the absence of private capital financ-ing. I was getting on a plane to go to London, taking a client who was raisingfunds, both development and long-term, for a power project in Asia. It was asmall to medium-sized project, so we only needed about $400 million. Thatis real money, by the way, U.S., not Canadian. In the lounge waiting toboard, I ran into an old friend who then was a senior officer at one of themajor investment dealers in Canada, which, as was also explained thismorning, is owned by the bank. The banks bought up all the investment deal-ers. We do not worry about problems in that regard in Canada.So I said, "John what are you doing? Why are you going to London?" Hesaid, "Well, this is Fred here. He is a nice young man, and he's closing a fiftymillion dollar, year-old Canadian deal here. I am just taking him over toshow him how it is done. Why are you going?"So I kind of let him have it and said, "Well, I'm going even though Ishouldn't be going because we cannot find any money for this project inCanada. What the heck is going on?" and "the bank owns you" and "you're asecurities dealer, and you have merchant banking expertise, so why isn't ithappening?"When I tell you his answer you will know why I did not name him. Hesaid, "Michael, we make so much money in Toronto, London, and NewYork, we just can't be bothered to learn about all these difficult foreign juris-dictions. It's just not worth the trouble.""Well," I asked, "why don't you hire all those red suspender guys fromLondon, or at least a couple of them, give them their Porsche signing bonus,and bring them over and let them do it?"3Robinson: Introduction: The Impact of Technological Change on Developing CoPublished by Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons, 1999256 CANADA-UNITED STATES LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 25:253 1999]"Oh, no, they wouldn't integrate well into our culture." And so that is thesad story.Now, Eric is going to tell you, I am sure, a much more optimistic storyabout all the wonderful things that are being done in the United States toprovide technology to emerging markets.4Canada-United States Law Journal, Vol. 25 [1999], Iss. , Art. 36https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cuslj/vol25/iss/36

Introduction: The Impact of Technological Change on Developing Countries

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Introduction: The Impact of Technological Change on Developing Countries

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