A Trade Joint Working Group, set up by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development, has been tasked with ensuring that small firms and individual taxpayers benefit from the recently completed trade deal with the European Union.

The group is tasked with developing joint initiatives to provide municipal officials with trade promotion tools, including trade and investment programs and services, and activities and practical information regarding international trade agreements and opportunities.

It is also charged with supporting the FCM's efforts to attract job-creating investment in Canada, engage with the FCM and its members on issues related to trade and investment, and report annually to the President of the FCM and the Minister of International Trade.

The focus for the first year will be on ensuring that the benefits of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) are delivered.

Approximately 98 percent of the EU's more than 9,000 tariff lines will become duty-free when the CETA enters into force. A majority of industrial duties will be eliminated immediately and the remainder will be removed over a period of up to seven years.

Once the deal is fully implemented, 99 percent of the EU's tariff lines will be duty-free, including 100 percent of non-agricultural tariff lines and 95 percent of agriculture tariff lines. Nearly 92 percent of EU agricultural and food products will be exported to Canada duty-free.

FCM President Brad Woodside said: "To realize Canada's full economic potential, cities and communities must be full partners with the federal Government to attract jobs and promote local businesses. Strong cities and communities are central to Canada's long-term economic competitiveness. This kind of partnership can only improve our capacity to take advantage of international trade and investment opportunities."

International Trade Minister Ed Fast said: "Under our Global Markets Action Plan, we committed to a strengthened and renewed structure with FCM and today we are delivering on our commitment. The joint working group will help to ensure that municipalities across Canada benefit from our recently concluded trade agreements with the European Union and Korea, and will help our SMEs export and attract job-creating investment in Canada."

Source: Tax News

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