News
October 21, 2013
A New Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada
After more than four years of negotiation, an agreement in principle has been reached between Canada and the European Union (EU) on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Described as the most ambitious partnership in Canada’s history, CETA will give Québec-based businesses unprecedented access to the huge EU market, which comprises 28 member nations. Among other things, the agreement will eliminate European customs duties on almost all of Québec’s major exports, as well as normalize rules and standards among the countries involved.
QUÉBEC'S SECOND-LARGEST TRADING PARTNER
With a population of 500 million and annual economic activity totalling $17 trillion, the EU is the largest economy in the world. It is also Québec’s second-largest trading partner and export market.
A HIGHLY PROFITABLE AGREEMENT FOR QUÉBEC-BASED BUSINESSES
There is much to be gained from this agreement by companies operating in several industries, including:
- Aerospace
- Agri-food
- Automotive and ground-transportation equipment
- Information technologies and software
- Life sciences
- Light metals
- Microelectronics
- Multimedia
- Optics
- Photonics
- Telecommunications
The agreement is slated to come into effect within the next two years.
October 18, 2013
