GHY Tradelines

(FAITC)

Entry into force of Canada-Panama trade agreement eliminates tariffs on more than 90% of Canadian exports to one of the fastest-growing markets in the Americas

The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today announced the entry into force of a bilateral free trade agreement between Canada and Panama that immediately secures a competitive advantage for Canadian exporters.

“Canada’s Economic Action Plan, with its focus on creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity in every region of our country, includes opening new markets that increase Canadian exports,” said Minister Fast. “Starting today, this historic agreement will benefit Canadian exporters by immediately eliminating tariffs on more than 90% of Canadian goods exported to Panama. Workers and businesses in a wide range of Canadian sectors, such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper and agriculture and agri-food, will benefit from taking Canada’s trading relationship with Panama to the next level.”

“The trading relationship between Canada and Panama continues to grow by leaps and bounds, having increased by 62 percent in less than four years,” said the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs). “This agreement is further proof of our government’s commitment to a robust presence in the Americas that increases economic opportunities for Canadians and delivers real benefits and prosperity for people throughout our hemisphere.”

In less than six years, the Harper government has concluded free trade agreements with nine countries: Colombia, Honduras, Jordan, Panama, Peru and the European Free Trade Association member states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. In addition, Canada is in ongoing trade negotiations with the European Union, India, Japan and the members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Canada also recently achieved observer status in the Pacific Alliance, a grouping of key fast-growing markets in Latin America. These accomplishments have been key to the Harper government’s work in opening new markets and increasing Canadian exports as part of the most-ambitious trade expansion plan in the nation’s history.
 

(Jakarta Post – Linda Yulisman)

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) concluded a long-bargained free trade agreement (FTA) with India on services and investment on Wednesday ahead of a two-day commemorative summit in New Delhi, India.

“The agreement will be able to significantly boost economic activities between India and ASEAN, as well as [those] between India and Indonesia,” Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said in an SMS after the agreement was reached.

The FTA would also pave the way for discussions on a regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) that ASEAN plan to seal with its six key trade partners, which includes India, Gita added. The new agreement will add to the FTA on goods between ASEAN and India, said to have created one of the world’s biggest free trade areas with a market of around 1.8 billion people and a combined gross domestic product of US$2.8 trillion. Read more here.
 

(John Ibbitson – Globe & Mail)

A quarter century of free trade has transformed this country, but not in the way its champions hoped, or its critics feared.

Canada has not, as opponents predicted, become an economic appendage to the American giant, a 51st state in all but name, since the Canadian and American governments reached a comprehensive free-trade agreement. We are, if anything, a freer actor in the world than we were before the deal was signed, 25 years ago Thursday.

But the benefits are also debatable. After a decade of rapid increase following the ratification of the Canada-United States free-trade agreement (commonly referred to as FTA), trade with America has levelled off and even, by some measures, fallen back to where it was before the deal.

Despite rosy predictions, Canadian productivity continues to lag; too little gets researched here and not enough is developed. Read more here.

Related: A Trade Deal’s Hopes and Fears (Globe & Mail)

(Livio Di Matteo – Winnipeg Free Press)

Canada is negotiating the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union. The recent stirrings of public debate over what the CETA might mean for municipal public procurement in Canada, or drug prices, brings back memories of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement of the 1980s. [...]

Will the CETA have an impact on Canada’s economy? The answer is yes, but the effects should be largely positive. One can expect that, like the FTA, there will be economic adjustment that generates winners and losers, but that over the long term, there will be economic growth and employment generated from diversifying our trade. Moreover, reducing our dependence on the U.S. market will actually create greater economic stability for our economy. Read more here.
 

(Mike Godfrey — Tax-News)

Canada and Costa Rica have concluded a third round of talks on the expansion and modernization of their existing free trade agreement (FTA).

The latest negotiations were held in Ottawa, with a fourth round scheduled for June. The original FTA entered into force in 2002 but did not include provisions in areas such as cross-border trade in services, financial services, investment and government procurement.

According to Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, expanding the agreement to include such sectors would bring the deal into line with the model the government nowadays aspires to in its trade negotiations. It is also hoped that an amended FTA will create new opportunities for Canadian businesses in sectors like construction, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. Read more here.
 

On March 6, President Obama signed a proclamation to implement the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, paving the way for increased trade between the United States and South Korea.  The proclamation follows congressional approval of the free-trade accord on October 13, 2011. The two nations have agreed to put the FTA into effect as of next Thursday.

This proclamation amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. to implement the preferential tariff treatment of goods imported from Korea under the terms of the FTA and specify rules of origin under which such treatment may be granted. It also authorizes the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements to determine when fabrics, yarns or fibers are short supply (thus permitting preferential tariff treatment for imports of textile and apparel goods made with such inputs sourced other than in the U.S. or Korea) and to implement safeguards and enforcement actions on textile and apparel imports from Korea.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, addressing Korean news agencies in December 2011, said: “The accord is significant because it lays the groundwork for a ‘win-win’ relationship by reflecting the national interests of Korea and the United States in a balanced manner.”
 

(DFAIT)

The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, [Monday] announced the successful conclusion of a second round of negotiations to modernize the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement.

“Expanding our free trade agreement with Costa Rica will enhance access for businesses in many sectors, which means jobs and prosperity for Canadian workers and families,” said Minister Fast. “By deepening Canada’s trading relationships around the world, our government is committed to helping businesses gain preferred access in priority markets.”

The original agreement entered into force in 2002 but did not include provisions in areas such as cross-border trade in services, financial services, investment and government procurement. An expanded agreement would create greater opportunities for Canadian businesses in many sectors, including construction, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications.

The talks took place February 6 to 10 in San José, Costa Rica. A third round is scheduled for April 2012.

Costa Rica has been Canada’s largest trading partner in Central America since 2002, accounting for 31% of Canada’s two-way merchandise trade with the region in 2010. The main categories of Canadian exports to Costa Rica in 2010 were paper and paperboard, cereals and machinery.

“In what remain globally challenging economic times and with one in five Canadian jobs generated by trade, expanding agreements like ours with Costa Rica is a key part of our government’s low-tax, pro-trade plan for jobs and economic growth,” added Minister Fast. “Promoting free trade, diversifying our export markets and helping Canadian businesses expand and succeed in priority markets around the world will strengthen the financial security of Canadian families and ensure Canada’s economic success now and into the future.”

In the Americas region, Canada has concluded trade agreements with Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru and the United States. Together, Canadian exports to these countries made up over three quarters of Canada’s worldwide exports in 2010.
 

(CBSA)

This memorandum contains the CCOFTA Rules of Origin Regulations and provides a link to the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (FAITC) Web site where the Rules of Origin for the CCOFTA may be found.

Summary
CCOFTA Rules of Origin Regulations

RULES OF ORIGIN

1. The following provisions of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, signed on November 21, 2008, have the force of law in Canada:
a. Articles 301 to 305;
b. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 306;
c. Articles 307 to 315;
d. Article 318; and
e. Annex 301.

COMING INTO FORCE

2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which section 30 of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, chapter 4 of the Statutes of Canada, 2010, comes into force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.