Canada, Latin American States To Pursue Free Trade Deal

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

28 February 2018

Canada and the Mercosur bloc have announced the positive conclusion of their exploratory discussions on a potential comprehensive free trade agreement.

According to the Canadian Government, Canada and Mercosur agreed on the strong potential to develop a more ambitious trade relationship through the means of a trade deal. The Government said that both sides concurred that if they were to launch negotiations, the outcome would have to be commercially meaningful, mutually beneficial, and balanced.

Canada and Mercosur have agreed on the overall framework of negotiations. This includes the timing for a potential first meeting, alternating rounds between Mercosur countries and Canada, and the appointment of spokespersons.

The agreed outline for negotiations includes: trade in goods, trade in services, rules of origin, trade facilitation and customs cooperation, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade, investment, intellectual property rights, and government procurement, among others.

The Mercosur countries are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. In 2016, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Mercosur reached a value of CAD8.9bn (USD7bn).

In October 2017, Canada and Mercosur issued a joint statement in which they stressed that "there is strong potential to develop a more ambitious trade relationship by enhancing trade and investment flows." They committed to advancing a joint scoping exercise toward possible trade negotiations.

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