Partner countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK free trade agreement. Some agreements are relatively limited; This is the case with the agreement between Canada and the European Free Trade Association20, which focuses almost exclusively on the abolition of tariffs21.21 Other agreements, such as the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement, go further and include investment protection, or they deal with the environment and labour, just like Canada`s free trade agreements with Peru and Colombia. Memorandums of understanding, air agreements and more. According to Turley, Canada`s free trade agreements help ensure that Canadian companies are treated as predictably and transparently as their domestic competitors abroad. In an increasingly integrated global economy, it is important for businessmen to be able to cross borders to facilitate trade and investment. Removing non-tariff barriers „helps Canadian businesses grow and prosper by temporarily ensuring smooth cross-border travel or relocation,“ he says. For example, some free trade agreements facilitate access to certain categories of businessmen, such as business travellers. B, company workers, highly skilled professionals and investors. A country selects a partner for a FIPA based on a wide range of criteria, such as economic interests, current and future direct investment prospects, investor protection in the host country, the likelihood of reaching an appropriate agreement, and other trade or foreign policy factors.13 Read more about Canada`s trade and investment agreements types of contracts and the gradual development of trade and investment agreements. The first trade agreement with the United States was concluded in 1935 and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1994 with the United States and Mexico. NAFTA was renegotiated in 2018 and renamed the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Since the early 1990s, bilateral and regional trade agreements, including free trade agreements and customs unions, have multiplied. On January 15, 2012, approximately 511 such agreements were notified to the WTO, of which 319 were in force.9 Trade agreements – and a huge expansion of exports – followed with a number of countries such as: McCall adds that there is a very great opportunity not to address them , and notes that Canada is not alone in this matter. It has a number of important partners, including „voices of mutual support“ within the EU, which has addressed the issue. Canada, Chile and New Zealand have also created an inclusive trade action group that has made a joint statement to promote progressive and inclusive trade. Customs unions relating to the „replacement of a single customs territory by two or more customs duties“ are 31 another form of economic integration that eliminates tariffs and trade restrictions between and between countries. Canada is not a member of a customs union; However, the European Union is a well-known example of such a Union. Customs unions are governed by WTO rules and the terms of the EU agreement.
