U1 The 3 Most Important Multilateral Trade Deals for Canada

Question 1

CUSMA

Answer 1

• Free trade deal known as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) established in 1994.
• Replaced by USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) in the US.
• Allows for the free movement of goods across the borders of the three countries.
• Trilateral merchandise trade between the countries reached nearly USD $1.0 trillion in 2016, a significant increase since 1993.
• NAFTA partners represented 28% of the world’s GDP with less than 7% of the world’s population.
• The North American economy expanded with a combined GDP of USD $21.1 trillion in 2016.

Question 2

CETA

Answer 2

• Free trade deal between Canada and the European Union (EU) came into effect in 2017.
• In the two years since the deal was provisionally enforced:
  
  • Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and the EU averaged $122 billion annually, a 21.1% increase compared to pre-CETA (2016).
  • Canadian merchandise exports to the EU grew by 16.6%, and Canadian merchandise imports from the EU grew by 24.1%.
  • Nine out of the 13 Canadian provinces and territories experienced an increase in exports to the EU.
  • Services exports rose by 9.5%, and services imports increased by 7.3%.

Question 3

CPTPP

Answer 3

• Trade deal between Canada and ten other Asia-Pacific countries
• Came into effect in 2018
• The participating countries are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
• When fully implemented, the 11 countries will form a trading bloc representing 495 million consumers and 13.5% of global GDP.
• Provides Canada with preferential access to key markets in Asia and Latin America.
• The original deal, known as the TPP, included the United States.
• President Trump removed the US from the deal.