Free trade agreements of Canada

Summary

The free trade agreements of Canada represents Canada's cooperation in multinational trade pacts and plays a large role in the Canadian economy. Canada is regularly described as a trading nation, considering its total trade is worth more than two-thirds of its GDP (the second highest level in the G7, after Germany).[1][2] Of that total trade, roughly 75% is done with countries that are part of free trade agreements with Canada—primarily the United States through the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), and its predecessor the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).[3] By the end of 2014, Canadas bilateral trade hit Can$1 trillion for the first time.[4] Canada is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements with 51 different countries.[5]

  Canada
  Countries and territories with free trade agreements

Overview edit

Canada is a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1 January 1995, having been an original GATT member since 1 January 1948.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which is held with Canada by the United States and Mexico, came into force on 1 January 1994, creating the largest free trade region in the world by GDP. By 2014, the combined GDP for the NAFTA area was estimated to be over Can$20 trillion with a market encompassing 474 million people.[6][7]

Building on that success, Canada continues to negotiate and has concluded free trade agreements with 51 countries,[5] most recently with South Korea, which represents Canada's first FTA with a partner in the Asia-Pacific region. As of 2018, Canada has also concluded two other significant multilateral trade agreements: the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union and the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with 10 other Pacific-Rim countries.[8] On 21 September 2017, CETA was provisionally applied, immediately eliminating 98% of EU's tariff lines on Canadian goods.[9] Canada is currently the only G7 country to have free trade agreements in force with all other G7 countries. Free trade with the final G7 country, Japan, commenced when the CPTPP entered into force on 30 December 2018.

Free trade agreements edit

In force or provisionally in force edit

Current FTAs between Canada and other countries/trading blocs[8]
Agreement name Abbreviation Countries/blocs involved Signed Entered into force
Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement CUSFTA   United States 12 October 1987 1 January 1989[a]
North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA   Mexico
  United States
17 December 1992 1 January 1994[b]
Canada–Israel Free Trade Agreement CIFTA   Israel 31 July 1996 1 July 1997
Canada–Chile Free Trade Agreement CCFTA   Chile 5 December 1996 5 July 1997
Canada–Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement CCRFTA   Costa Rica 23 April 2001 1 November 2002
Canada–European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement CEFTA   European Free Trade Association 26 January 2008 1 July 2009
Canada–Peru Free Trade Agreement CPFTA   Peru 29 May 2008 1 August 2009
Canada–Colombia Free Trade Agreement CCoFTA   Colombia 21 November 2008 15 August 2011[c]
Canada–Jordan Free Trade Agreement CJFTA   Jordan 28 June 2009 1 October 2012
Canada–Panama Free Trade Agreement CPAFTA   Panama 14 May 2010 1 April 2013
Canada–Honduras Free Trade Agreement CHFTA   Honduras 5 November 2013 1 October 2014
Canada–Korea Free Trade Agreement CKFTA   South Korea 11 March 2014 1 January 2015
Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement CUFTA   Ukraine 11 July 2016 1 August 2017
Canadian Free Trade Agreement (interprovincial trade agreement) CFTA   Canada July 1 2017 July 1 2017[10]
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement CETA   European Union 30 October 2016 21 September 2017[11]
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership[12] CPTPP,
TPP-11
8 March 2018 30 December 2018
Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement[d] CUSMA   Mexico
  United States
30 November 2018 1 July 2020
Canada–UK Trade Continuity Agreement Canada–UK TCA   United Kingdom[e] 9 December 2020 1 April 2021


Under Active Negotiation edit

Canada is negotiating bilateral FTAs with the following countries and trade blocs:[8]

Negotiations ended with no plan to restart edit

Exploratory discussions edit

Canada is undertaking exploratory discussions of bilateral or multilateral FTAs with the following countries and trade blocs, although formal negotiations have not yet begun:[8]

Abandoned free trade agreement proposals edit

Agreement name Abbreviation Countries involved Notes
Free Trade Area of the Americas FTAA Proposed expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement to all members of the Organization of American States, negotiated from 1994 to 2005. During the 4th Summit of the Americas in 2005, 26 of the countries pledged to meet again in 2006 to resume negotiations but no such meeting took place.
Canada–Central American Four Free Trade Agreement CCA4FTA Twelve rounds of negotiations from 2001 to 2010. When no agreement was reached during the 2010 round, Canada and Honduras decided to pursue bilateral negotiations and concluded a separate bilateral FTA.[22]
Trans-Pacific Partnership TPP Agreement was signed 4 February 2016. Following the withdrawal of the United States' signature on 23 January 2017 the agreement is defunct, and the remaining members instead concluded the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements edit

A Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) is an agreement to promote foreign investing.

FIPAs in force edit

The following is a list of FIPAs in force, including date of entry into force.[8]

  • Canada–Argentina (29 April 1993)
  • Canada–Armenia (29 March 1999)
  • Canada–Barbados (17 January 1997)
  • Canada–Benin (18 January 2013)
  • Canada–Burkina Faso (11 October 2017)
  • Canada–Cameroon (16 December 2016)
  • Canada–China (1 October 2014)
  • Canada–Costa Rica (29 September 1999)
  • Canada–Côte d'Ivoire (14 December 2015)
  • Canada–Croatia (30 January 2001)
  • Canada–Czech Republic (22 January 2012)
  • Canada–Ecuador (6 June 1997)
  • Canada–Egypt (3 November 1997)
  • Canada–Guinea (27 March 2017)
  • Canada–Hong Kong (6 September 2016)
  • Canada–Hungary (21 November 1993)
  • Canada–Jordan (14 December 2009)
  • Canada–Kosovo (19 December 2018)
  • Canada–Kuwait (19 February 2014)
  • Canada–Latvia (24 November 2011)
  • Canada–Lebanon (19 June 1999)
  • Canada–Mali (8 June 2016)
  • Canada–Moldova (23 August 2019)
  • Canada–Mongolia (24 February 2017)
  • Canada–Panama (13 February 1998)
  • Canada–Peru (20 June 2007)
  • Canada–Philippines (13 November 1996)
  • Canada–Poland (22 November 1990)
  • Canada–Romania (23 November 2011)
  • Canada–Russian Federation (27 June 1991)
  • Canada–Senegal (5 August 2016)
  • Canada–Serbia (27 April 2015)
  • Canada–Slovak Republic (14 March 2012)
  • Canada–Tanzania (9 December 2013)
  • Canada–Thailand (24 September 2008)
  • Canada–Trinidad & Tobago (8 June 1996)
  • Canada–Ukraine (24 June 1995)
  • Canada–Uruguay (2 June 1999)
  • Canada–Venezuela (28 January 1998)

FIPAs signed edit

The following is a list of FIPAs that have been concluded and signed, but have not yet entered into force.[8]

  • Canada–Taiwan (December 2023)[23]
  • Canada–Nigeria (May 2014)

FIPA negotiations concluded edit

The following is a list of FIPA negotiations concluded, and are not in force. First is the country, then the date it was concluded.[8]

  • Canada–Albania (November 2013)
  • Canada–Bahrain (February 2010)
  • Canada–Madagascar (August 2008)
  • Canada–United Arab Emirates (May 2018)
  • Canada–Zambia (March 2013)

Ongoing FIPA negotiations edit

The following is a list of FIPA negotiations that have not yet concluded.[8]

  • Canada–Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Canada–Gabon
  • Canada–Georgia
  • Canada–Ghana
  • Canada–India
  • Canada–Kazakhstan
  • Canada–Kenya
  • Canada–Republic of Macedonia
  • Canada–Mauritania
  • Canada–Mozambique
  • Canada–Pakistan
  • Canada–Qatar
  • Canada–Rwanda
  • Canada–Tunisia

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Replaced by the North American Free Trade Agreement.
  2. ^ Replaced by the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement.
  3. ^ Canada's ratification of this FTA was dependent upon Colombia's ratification of the "Agreement Concerning Annual Reports on Human Rights and Free Trade Between Canada and the Republic of Colombia" signed on 27 May 2010
  4. ^ The agreement is also referred to as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement and abbreviated as the USMCA.
  5. ^ Trade between Canada and the United Kingdom had formerly benefited from the Canada–EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), although CETA ceased to apply to Canada–UK trade after the UK withdrew from the EU in 2021. The Trade Continuity Agreement largely replicates the provisions of CETA until a more comprehensive trade agreement is agreed upon.[13][14]

References edit

  1. ^ Hart, M. (2003). A Trading Nation: Canadian Trade Policy from Colonialism to Globalization. University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 9780774808958. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  2. ^ OECD. "OECD Statistics". stats.oecd.org. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  3. ^ Coyne, Andrew (March 16, 2012), Andrew Coyne: Canada at the crossroad of trade, archived from the original on 24 March 2012, retrieved 2 May 2014
  4. ^ "Imports, exports and trade balance of goods on a balance-of-payments basis, by country or country grouping". Statistics Canada. 18 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Expand globally with Canada's free trade agreements". GAC. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  6. ^ North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, 20 November 2015, archived from the original on 8 December 2015, retrieved 28 November 2015
  7. ^ Proximity to Market, Invest in Ontario, Government of Ontario, 2010, archived from the original on 2 May 2014, retrieved 2 May 2014
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "Trade and investment agreements". International.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  9. ^ "CETA: A progressive trade agreement for a strong middle class". Global Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Canadian Free Trade Agreement". Government of Canada Internal Trade Secretariat. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  11. ^ "CETA in effect today as Canada-EU trade pact comes into force". CBC News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)". 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-12-26. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  13. ^ "Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA) – Economic Impact Assessment". www.international.gc.ca. Government of Canada. 8 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  14. ^ McGregor, Janye (9 December 2020). "Canada-U.K. trade deal signed — but implementing bill unlikely to meet deadline". www.cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 May 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  15. ^ Goshko, Susannah [@SusannahGoshko] (January 25, 2024). "A statement from the UK Government on our decision to pause Free Trade Negotiations with Canada" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 January 2024 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "UK Breaks Off Free Trade Talks With Canada on Lack of Progress". Bloomberg. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Canada drops free trade talks with China: The Globe and Mail". Reuters. 2020-09-18. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  18. ^ "Credit Check: Canadians say U.S. deserves as much credit for Two Michaels' release as their own country". Angus Reid Institute. 2021-10-07. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  19. ^ Carbert, Michelle (2019-05-22). "Ottawa to ship tonnes of garbage back to Canada from Philippines by end of June". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  20. ^ Canada, Global Affairs (2017-02-10). "Canada-Thailand Exploratory Free Trade Discussions". GAC. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  21. ^ Canada, Global Affairs (2017-02-10). "Canada-Turkey Exploratory Free Trade Discussions". GAC. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  22. ^ "Additional background information". Canada-Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador (Formerly Canada – Central American Four) Free Trade Agreement Negotiations. Global Affairs Canada. 14 February 2017. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Canada inks landmark bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan". Global News. Global News. Retrieved 23 December 2023.