Canada, Israel To Expand FTA

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

11 October 2010

The Canadian Minister of International Trade, Peter Van Loan has concluded a two-day visit to Israel, where it was proposed that the two countries conduct exploratory talks to expand the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

In a statement upon his return to Canada, Van Loan said:

“The Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement has been tremendously beneficial for our two countries. Two-way merchandise trade has more than doubled since its implementation.”

“Canada’s ties to Israel are very deep, and our friendship is important. Our government is building on these ties and looking at opportunities to expand our trade relationship. We are committed to creating new sources of jobs, growth and prosperity for both of our countries in the years ahead.”

In Tel Aviv, Van Loan met with Binyamin Ben Eliezer, Israel’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour. The ministers discussed expanding the FTA and agreed that officials would start exploratory talks in order to work on moving beyond the original, first-generation trade agreement that is currently in place, to ‘significantly expand its application’.

“Expanding the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement is part of the Harper government’s broad and ambitious free trade agenda. In just four years, our government has negotiated new trade agreements with eight countries, is in negotiation with close to 50 others, and is now expanding the three first-generation agreements signed by the former government.”

While in Tel Aviv, Van Loan met with Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology, Daniel Hershkowitz. Their meeting focused on strategies for increasing cooperation in science and technology. The Canadian minister also met with the Chief Scientist from Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour, Eli Opper, to discuss potential joint innovation initiatives.

“There are a great many opportunities for cooperation between Israel and Canada when it comes to the commercialization of science,” said Van Loan. “Canada and Israel can be even more effective partners in the areas of technology collaboration, research and development, and innovation commercialization. We hope to see increased collaboration that will bring significant benefits to both our countries, including future economic growth, improved health and environmental sustainability.”

Israel is a key economic partner for Canada. Since the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement came into force, two-way merchandise trade has more than doubled, reaching USD1.3bn last year. Israel is Canada’s sixth-largest merchandise export market in the Middle East.

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