Minister Carr in Toronto to talk trade diversification
News release
October 3, 2018 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Canada’s trade diversification strategy is all about securing more trade deals and providing support to innovative, ambitious and hard-working Canadian entrepreneurs so they can achieve success in all corners of the world. By creating new opportunities for Canadian investors, exporters and, especially, our small and medium-sized businesses, the Government of Canada is helping them access new customers, clients and the well-paying jobs that flow from these opportunities.
The Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification, will travel to Toronto on October 4, 2018, to discuss the Government of Canada’s diversification agenda. Minister Carr will deliver a keynote speech at the 12th edition of the Doing Business in Brazil seminar, organized by the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce, during which he will provide an update on progress being made on the Canada-Mercosur free trade negotiations and other initiatives to promote Canadian global trade and investment opportunities.
Minister Carr will see first-hand how free trade agreements, such as the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), benefit companies during a site visit to Wuxly Movement, a high-end manufacturer of cold-climate outerwear that uses sustainable fabrics and production methods. As a result of CETA, Wuxly Movement’s sales to customers in the European Union increased by 45% and their number of employees rose from five to eight.
Quotes
“Expanding and diversifying Canada’s trade is a national imperative. By securing new markets on better terms, we are providing more hard-working Canadians with the tools they need to compete and succeed. That is good for wealth creation and that in turn is great for job creation.”
- Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification
Quick facts
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With the implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Canadian businesses will soon have preferential access, through 14 trade agreements, to 51 countries with nearly 1.5 billion consumers and a combined GDP of more than US$50 trillion.
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CETA just celebrated its first anniversary on September 21. Since its implementation, trade between Canada and the EU has increased by nearly 10%.
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Brazil is Canada’s third-largest trading partner in the Americas after the United States and Mexico, with $6.4 billion in bilateral merchandise trade in 2017. Brazil is also an important source of foreign direct investment into Canada (stocks valued at $18.2 billion in 2017), making it the seventh-largest investor in Canada.
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Canada is currently negotiating a comprehensive, ambitious and inclusive free trade agreement with Mercosur. Mercosur, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, is the world’s fourth-largest trading bloc, representing a combined population of 260 million and a GDP of over $3 trillion.
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