October 3, 2007
No. 135
October 4th marks an important date in Canada-U.S. trade relations. Twenty years ago,
the two countries concluded the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Sixteen months of intense negotiations led to this ground-breaking trade deal, a
milestone in Canada’s international relations. The historic agreement placed Canada at
the forefront of trade liberalization and paved the way for the North American Free
Trade Agreement, which was to follow five years later.
“The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was an essential step toward securing the
prosperity that Canadians enjoy today,” said the Honourable David Emerson, Minister
of International Trade. “Thanks to the leadership and vision of the Conservative
government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, this agreement has provided tremendous
economic growth, surpassing the most optimistic predictions. It remains, to this day, a
platform for Canada’s growing economic competitiveness in the world.”
Results of the FTA:
• Two-way trade between Canada and the United States has tripled since the
agreement came into effect.
• An estimated 7.1 million jobs in the United States and 3 million in Canada
depend on the flow of goods and services across the border.
• Canadian exports of goods and services to the U.S. have more than tripled,
rising from $116.9 billion in 1988 to $398.4 billion in 2006.
Key elements of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement included the elimination of
tariffs and the reduction of many non-tariff barriers; it was also among the first trade
agreements to address trade in services. It featured a dispute settlement mechanism
for the fair and independent resolution of trade disagreements. The success of this
dispute resolution model later led to similar mechanisms being integrated into the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and World Trade Organization regimes. Of
particular importance to Canada was the fact that the FTA established a unique system
for the binational review of trade-remedy determinations, providing an alternative to
domestic judicial review.
The road to NAFTA:
Building on the momentum and success of the Canada-U.S. FTA, negotiations toward
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were launched in 1991. The
objective of NAFTA was to preserve, promote and expand the trade and economic
gains made in the initial FTA with the United States, and to add similar trade
opportunities with Mexico. NAFTA came into force in 1994, creating what is still, today,
the world’s largest free trade area.
In addition to the U.S. and Mexico, Canada has free trade agreements with Chile,
Costa Rica and Israel. The government has also recently concluded negotiations with
the countries of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland
and Liechtenstein), and is currently negotiating with several nations in Asia and the
Americas.
For more information on the Canada-U.S. FTA, please visit:
http://www.international.gc.ca/tna-nac/RB/FTA-US-en.asp
For more information on NAFTA, please visit:
http://www.international.gc.ca/naftaalena/menu-en.asp
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
François Jubinville
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and
the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
613-992-7332
Trade Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-996-2000
http://www.international.gc.ca
