6 July 2009
Ottawa, Ontario
At the Canada-EU Summit on May 6, 2009 in Prague, Czech Republic, the launch of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement was announced.
Together with the provinces and territories, and in consultation with Canadian stakeholders, the Government of Canada has prepared a detailed negotiating mandate. Canada and the EU agree that we should seek an ambitious agreement, and negotiate a wide range of areas, including trade in goods, technical trade barriers, trade facilitation, customs procedures and rules of origin, trade in services, investment, central and sub-central government procurement, food safety and animal and plant health measures, regulatory co-operation, intellectual property, competition policy, dispute settlement and sustainable development.
The EU is the world’s largest exporter of goods and services, while an estimated one in five Canadian jobs is linked to trade. Openness to the global economy is a key factor underlying this prosperity and is a powerful stimulus to competition, innovation and growth.
Economic relations between the EU and Canada are long-standing. In 2008, two-way merchandise trade totalled over $90 billion, up seven per cent from 2007. The EU is Canada’s second largest export market, after the United States. Canadian merchandise exports to the EU were up 3.5 per cent in 2008, reaching more than $36 billion. The investment relationship is even stronger: the EU is Canada’s second most important investment partner and Canada the EU’s fourth most important investment partner.
In October 2008, the EU and Canada released their joint study "Assessing the Costs and Benefits of a Closer EU-Canada Economic Partnership." The study indicated that liberalisation of trade in goods and services has the potential to give a $12 billion boost to the Canadian economy and increase bilateral trade by over 20 percent.
While the federal government negotiates and enters into international treaties, the provinces and territories are responsible for implementing treaty obligations that fall within their jurisdiction, including through enacting legislation as required. For this reason, the Government of Canada will provide a process for the participation of the provinces and territories and ensure their views are fully taken into account in the development of Canadian negotiating positions, both before and during negotiations.
The private sectors in both the EU and Canada have shown strong public support for an ambitious and comprehensive economic agreement, both publicly and in response to the consultations undertaken by both parties in the framework of the joint study. Advancing a closer economic partnership would send a powerful pro-growth signal to investors and businesses not only within the EU and Canada, but also around the world.
A bilateral agreement with the EU could deliver commercial benefits across many sectors of the Canadian economy, including aerospace, chemicals, wood products, automotive vehicles and parts, agricultural products, transportation and other business services.
