CANADA’S INTERNATIONAL TRADE OBLIGATIONS

Today more than ever, almost everything we do has some international aspect to it, from the food we eat to the myriad of services we use in our daily lives. Trade agreements set out rules we live by at home and abroad. Trade agreements matter because they:

• eliminate or reduce tariffs (like a tax added to the price of imported products)
• facilitate the flow of goods and services
• increase investment opportunities
• provide protection for your investments
• protect intellectual property rights like patents and trademarks
• establish dispute settlement rules to enforce rights.

Canada has entered into several international trade agreements that affect all of us. These include:

• the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements
• the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)
• the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA)
• the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (CCRFTA)
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)
• Canada-European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

Canada has signed agreements with the following partners which are not yet in force:

• Canada-Columbia Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Jordan Free Trade Agreement

Canada is in the process of negotiating bilateral free trade agreements with a number of countries, including four Central American countries in a single agreement (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Panama, the Dominican Republic, the European Union, Korea and Singapore. Canada is also one 34 countries currently engaged in the negotiation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

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