Free trade agreements of Canada
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]
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Overview
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
In force or provisionally in force
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Under Active Negotiation
Canada is negotiating bilateral FTAs with the following countries and trade blocs:[8]
Negotiations ended with no plan to restart
India
Dominican Republic
Morocco
Singapore, abandoned following the commencement of exploratory discussions for a free trade agreement with ASEAN as a whole
Guatemala, 
Nicaragua, and 
El Salvador
Caribbean Community (CARIBCAN)
Exploratory discussions
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]
China, abandoned following the detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig and the extradition case of Meng Wanzhou[15][16]
Philippines, suspended following the Canada–Philippines waste dispute[17] and abandoned following the commencement of exploratory discussions for a free trade agreement with ASEAN as a whole
Thailand, abandoned following the commencement of exploratory discussions for a free trade agreement with ASEAN as a whole [18]
Turkey, with no progress since 2013[19]
Abandoned free trade agreement proposals
| Agreement name | Abbreviation | Countries involved | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trade Area of the Americas | FTAA | 32
|
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.[20] | |
| 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. |
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Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements
A Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) is an agreement to promote foreign investing.
FIPAs in force
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–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
The following is a list of FIPAs that have been concluded and signed, but have not yet entered into force.[8]
- Canada–Moldova (June 2018)
- Canada–Nigeria (May 2014)
FIPA negotiations concluded
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
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
Notes
- Replaced by the North American Free Trade Agreement.
- Replaced by the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement.
- 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
- The agreement is also referred to as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement and abbreviated as the USMCA.
- 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
- 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.
- OECD. "OECD Statistics". stats.oecd.org. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- 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
- "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.
- "Expand globally with Canada's free trade agreements". GAC. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
- 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
- Proximity to Market, Invest in Ontario, Government of Ontario, 2010, archived from the original on 2 May 2014, retrieved 2 May 2014
- "Trade and investment agreements". International.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
- "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.
- "Canadian Free Trade Agreement". Government of Canada Internal Trade Secretariat. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- "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.
- "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)". 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-12-26. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
- "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.
- 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.
- "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.
- "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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "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.