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ARTICLE · 30 NOVEMBER 2011

Approaching The Eleventh Hour - Canada EU Free Trade Negotiations Update

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Canada and the European Union entered into negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement ("CETA") in the spring of 2009.

CanadaInternational Law
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Canada and the European Union entered into negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement ("CETA") in the spring of 2009.

In 2010, the EU was Canada's second most important trading market with an estimated 10.5% of total external trade. Trade in goods and services between Canada and the EU was in the range of 100 billion dollars per year, and investment flows between Canada and the EU exceeded 40 billion dollars in 2009.

These trade negotiations are clearly significant in their own right. But their importance is enhanced by their role as a precedent in further bilateral and multilateral negotiations by either party with other countries or trading blocks.

In the nine rounds of negotiations that have taken place so far, there has been substantial progress. It has been estimated that more than 95% of goods traded have been identified for immediate tariff removal. At the same time, when the talks were initiated, 2011 was the projected completion date.

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