Canada has finally signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Aluminium Association of Canada thinks it will be good for Canada’s aluminum industry.
“Canada will become the centerpiece of a 1 billion consumers market: from NAFTA in America to CETA in Europe,” states Jean Simard, president and CEO. Thriving on international trade, the aluminium industry, has always supported the forging of an agreement between Canada and Europe, ever since the project was initiated by Jean Charest when he was premier of Quebec.
“This signing bodes well for our industry. Although it is not a panacea for all of the problems we have faced since 2008, it puts us in a favourable position for the future and should benefit our value chain with potential new investments. It establishes Canada as a new global trading space linking NAFTA and CETA,” says Simard.
The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will create jobs, strengthen economic relations and boost Canada’s trade with the world’s second-largest market, according to the Federal government. CETA is a free trade agreement that covers virtually all sectors and aspects of Canada-EU trade in order to eliminate or reduce barriers. For example, prior to CETA’s entry into force, only 25 per cent of EU tariff lines on Canadian goods were duty-free. Upon CETA’s entry into force, the EU will remove tariffs on 98 per cent of its tariff lines. Once CETA is fully implemented, the EU will have eliminated tariffs on 99 per cent of its tariff lines.
