Regional and Bilateral Initiatives
Canada-Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Free Trade Negotiations
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CARICOM is an established trade and investment partner for Canada,
with commercial relations rooted in history, dating back to pre-confederation.
A free trade agreement (FTA) with CARICOM would further strengthen
Canada’s commercial ties with these longstanding regional
partners and contribute to the shared goal of facilitating development
through economic integration within the Western Hemisphere. An FTA
would also support Canada’s broader foreign policy and development
objectives of deepening our engagement in the Americas and provide
a platform for dialogue and cooperation on such issues as labour
and the environment. As stated in the Government’s economic
plan, Advantage Canada, it is in Canada’s national
interest to be open to free trade opportunities and help Canadian
business compete in global markets.
CARICOM Member countries are: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat,
Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
Update
The Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced, on
July 19, 2007, the launch of negotiations towards an FTA between
Canada and the Caribbean Community member countries. (See News
Release and Backgrounder
– July 19, 2007)
Negotiations will cover a wide range of issues, including trade
in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, trade facilitation,
non-tariff barriers, cross-border trade in services, temporary entry,
investment, government procurement, dispute settlement and institutional
provisions. In keeping with Canada’s approach to FTA negotiations,
Canada will also seek to address the social dimensions of economic
integration through the negotiation of provisions on labour and
environment.
Background
Discussions towards the negotiation of a possible Canada-CARICOM
free trade agreement were announced at the Canada-CARICOM Summit
on January 19, 2001, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. . Following this announcement,
Canadian and CARICOM officials held four exploratory talks to identify
issues that could be pursued in a possible future negotiation. The
latest exploratory meeting was held in March 2005, in Barbados.
As a part of these discussions, extensive domestic consultations
were launched with business, citizen-based organizations and individual
Canadians, as well as with the provincial and territorial governments,
to obtain views on the possibility of an FTA between Canada and
CARICOM. (For more information on the public consultation, see the
News
Release and the Canada
Gazette Notice of December 15, 2001.)
CARICOM is an established market for Canadian goods, services and
investors. In 2006, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and
CARICOM countries amounted to $1.8 billion. Canadian merchandise
exports to the CARICOM totalled $669.2 million and include newsprint,
dried or salted fish, pharmaceutical products, copper wire, electrical
apparatus for telephones, transmission apparatus, doors and windows,
and iron ores. Merchandise imports from CARICOM totalled $1.13 billion
and include natural resource products such as gold, aluminum oxide,
methanol, non-crude oil and iron ores as well as fertilizers, liquors,
fish products, and fruits and vegetables. In 2004, the latest year
for which data is available, Canadian services exports were $1.5
billion, primarily in commercial services, while imports amounted
to $2.3 billion, mostly for commercial and travel services. In 2006,
the stock of Canadian direct investment in, or transhipped through,
the CARICOM market registered at $52.95 billion, an increase of
52% since 2001. CARICOM investment into Canada increased by 65%
since 2001, reaching a level of $760 million in 2006.
A bilateral free trade agreement with CARICOM could deliver commercial
benefits across many sectors of the Canadian economy, including
industrial goods (e.g. pharmaceuticals, products of base metals
such as iron, steel, and copper, electrical equipment), agriculture
(e.g. french fries, pork cuts, pulses), fish and seafood. In some
of these sectors, CARICOM tariffs range from 5-60%. An FTA with
CARICOM would also provide a more secure and predictable business
environment for Canadian investment in CARICOM, and enhance market
access for Canadian service providers (e.g. professional services,
research and development).
Contact Point
If you have questions or comments about this initiative we would
like to hear from you. Please contact Foreign Affairs & International
Trade Canada at:
Regional Trade Policy Division (TBB)
Foreign Affairs & International Trade Canada
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 promenade Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0G2
Fax: 613-944-3489
E-mail: consultations@international.gc.ca
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