Questionnaire on a comprehensive economic agreement between Canada and the European Union
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This questionnaire seeks your input on trade in goods, trade in services, temporary entry and investment with regard to Canadian business activities in the European Union.
The European Union (EU) consists of 27 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
We invite you to submit your input as per the following instructions:
- Please complete section A) General Questions
- Please complete questions in sections B), C), D), and/or E) depending on whether these sections are relevant to your company or association’s activities
Contributions may be sent by June 30, 2009 via email, fax or mail to:
Email: consultations@international.gc.ca
Fax: (613) 992-6002
Mail:
Bilateral Market Access Division (TBM)
Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 promenade Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0G2
In addition, please note that this questionnaire has been written for respondents from Canadian companies and associations. Throughout the text, we refer to both companies and associations with the term ‘organization’. Questions that are to be answered by either companies or associations will be specifically identified.
1. Please provide a brief description of your organization including the following:
- Sector (e.g., manufacturing, resources, agriculture, services, technology, etc.)
- Size of membership or number of employees
- Key lines of business (e.g., products or activities)
- Investment activities in the EU
- Importing or exporting status and history vis-à-vis the European Union
2. For companies - in which EU Member State(s) is your company currently conducting business? Does your company plan to expand its activities to additional EU countries in the next five years? If your company does not already have a presence in the EU market, does your company plan to enter the market within the next five years? (For associations - please respond to this question with general or specific reference to the activities of your members.)
3. In which Canadian city is your organization’s headquarters located? Does your organization have offices in other Canadian cities? If yes, please list.
4. May we contact you in the future regarding the Canada-EU trade relationship?
Yes
No
If yes, please provide your name and contact information below:
Name:
Position/Title:
Organization:
Phone Number:
Email:
Canada’s trade relationship with the EU is large and growing. The European Union accounted for $36 billion of Canada’s global goods exports and $54 billion of Canada’s global goods imports in 2008. We are seeking Canadian business community views on the elimination of tariffs and technical barriers to trade, for goods originating in both Canada and the EU. Consistent with Canada’s approach to other trade agreements, we anticipate that tariff elimination and phase-outs will be negotiated on an individual tariff line (or product) basis.
1. Canadian Export Interests
Please identify Canadian export interests where European tariffs should be eliminated immediately or phased-out rapidly. Please identify products using as much detail as possible, including their specific Harmonized System (HS) tariff line number and corresponding product description.
When identifying products where you would see the greatest benefit in having the EU remove its current tariff quickly, please (i) provide a rationale for choosing the product; and (ii) prioritize products identified in order of importance to you (high, medium, low).
2. Canadian Imports
Please identify any potential products for which a tariff phase-out period of some length would be required in order to allow Canadian industry to better adjust to increased import competition from the EU. You may also identify European products for which you have an interest in importing. Please identify products using as much detail as possible, including their specific Harmonized System (HS) tariff line number and corresponding product descriptions.
When identifying products where you would want Canadian tariffs to be phased-out over time, please provide a rationale for choosing the product and describe the need for a phase-out period.
3. Rules of Origin
Please provide any views regarding the rules of origin and/or advice on appropriate rules of origin for specific products or sectors. When identifying products, please specify product descriptions and/or the Harmonized System (HS) number.
4. Technical Barriers to Trade
a) Please identify any "technical barriers to trade" (TBTs) that you have encountered when exporting or conducting business in the EU.
TBTs may result from:
technical requirements established by standards, regulations or conformity assessment procedures (e.g. inspection, testing or certification) that are unnecessarily trade restrictive; and/or
government measures designed to achieve non-trade related objectives such as the protection of human (as well as animal and plant) health and safety, the environment or the protection of consumers against deceptive practices.
Examples of TBTs could include: overly burdensome labelling requirements; duplicative testing or certification requirements; and unnecessarily restrictive requirements resulting from health, safety, environmental or consumer protection regulations or mandatory standards.
Please provide as much detail as possible, including specific products, rules or regulations, EU Member States involved, and any other related documentation.
b) If you have encountered TBTs when exporting or doing business in the EU, do you consider these barriers to be the result of a specific rule or regulation, or are they symptomatic of a more systemic problem?
Examples of issues that might be symptomatic of systemic challenges include:
- lack of transparency in the rule making process or the surveillance/enforcement of existing rules;
- unique, duplicative or overly burdensome testing, certification, inspection requirements;
- requirements (performance, testing or otherwise) that are not based on international standards, deviate significantly from them, or are unique;
- differences in the application/interpretation of regulations or conformity assessment procedures among EU Member States;
- requirements that are unnecessarily trade restrictive, such as excessive or discriminatory labelling requirements; or
- the lack of recognition of conformity assessment results conducted by Canadian bodies and the need to duplicate conformity assessment procedures with bodies established in the EU.
i) If the TBT resulted from a specific measure (e.g. law, regulation, directive or standard) please specify the name of the measure.
ii) If it’s symptomatic of a more systemic problem, please provide as much detail as you can on the nature of the problem and its source (if possible).
c) If you have encountered TBTs when exporting or doing business in the EU, please explain in detail how they have impacted on your ability to access the EU market and compete with EU suppliers.
d) If your organization submitted comments as part of the development of an EU or EU Member State law, regulation or standard, were these comments taken into account in your opinion?
e) Has your organization experienced any problems as a result of EU Member State compliance with or application of EU Directives, laws, regulations and/or standards?
f) Please provide comments, suggestions, and recommendations on how to resolve the TBTs you have encountered and facilitate trade.
5. Regulatory Cooperation
Please identify areas where you believe your organization would benefit from closer regulatory cooperation between Canada and the EU. Looking ahead, do you see trends in EU regulations that, while not injurious to your interests at the moment, may present challenges in the future? If so, where and how?
6. Non-Tariff Barriers and Other Issues
Please identify any non-tariff barriers or any other issues with regard to trade in goods that you have encountered when exporting or conducting business in the EU. Please provide as much detail as possible, including specific products, rules or regulations, EU Member States involved, the resulting negative impact on Canada-EU trade, and any other related documentation.
Trade in goods issues may include the following:
- lack of transparency;
- undue administrative and customs delays and procedures, including lack of uniform administration between Member States;
- complex documentation, information and permit requirements, including excessive import or registration fees, as well as requirements that differ among EU Member States;
- differential taxation (and duty drawback/deferral) for imported and domestic products, as well as different taxation rates and exemption rules across Member States (measures can include value-added taxes (VAT) and excise duties);
- subsidies provided by EU Member States;
- export subsidies or export refunds;
- issues and experiences regarding trade remedies (i.e. anti-dumping and countervailing measures) taken between Canada and the EU;
- issues and experiences regarding geographic indications, trade-marks, copyright, patents, or other areas of intellectual property;
- special tariff regimes: seasonal tariffs, tariff relief, and tariff rate quotas -TRQs (and autonomous tariff rate quotas - ATRQs), including their size, administration, licensing;
- burdensome/redundant/duplicative testing, standards, labelling and certification requirements;
- difficulties in accessing distribution channels;
- differential or restrictive safety, consumer protection and environmental regulations
Trade in services is affected by a variety of domestic regulations and covers sectors as diverse as professional services, telecommunications, information and communication technologies, energy, transportation, distribution and retail trade.
Negotiations on Cross-Border Trade in Services will serve to establish a framework of rules designed to address domestic regulatory impediments applied on a sectoral basis as well as on the means through which the service is delivered.
The following questions seek to identify barriers to trade which may affect access and the effective delivery of services to the EU market.1. Mode of Delivery of Services
Please describe the ways in which your organization provides (or intends to provide) services to EU customers. Examples of ways services can be delivered include:
- using communications technologies to provide services to EU customers while remaining in Canada;
- establishing a branch, subsidiary or commercial presence in the EU;
- travelling to the EU to provide services;
- providing services to EU customers who travel to Canada.
2. Services Barriers
Please describe any barriers that your organization has encountered that have affected your ability to provide services to EU customers. Barriers to trade in services can include:
a. restrictions on the number of service operations determined, for example, by a quota or economic needs test;
b. restrictions on the total number of service operations or quantity of service output;
c. restrictions on the number of persons supplying a service (e.g. foreign labour should not exceed 10% of total);
d. requirements for specific types of legal entities (e.g. limiting commercial presence to a joint venture, partnership or sole proprietorship);
e. lack of transparency (e.g., laws and/or regulations are not publicly available or published);
f. regulations that discriminate in favour of European service suppliers (e.g., against Canadian service suppliers) such as:
- a requirement for service suppliers to be citizens or to reside in the country;
- a higher tax rate for service consumers dealing with foreign service suppliers;
- licensing/qualification requirements (i.e. residency requirements, having to obtain an education/degree from a particular institution);
- subsidies;
- intellectual property rights & enforcement;
- a requirement to own property or land.
g. Qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards and licensing requirements constituting unnecessary barriers to trade in services (more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service).
When describing service barriers, please provide as much detail as possible including the specific sector(s) involved, rules or regulations encountered, EU Member States involved, and any other related information. Please describe not only barriers specific to your sector, but any barriers related to the means by which you provide services (for example, regulations pertaining to electronic commerce).
3. Cooperation
Please identify any area where you believe your organization would benefit from closer cooperation, including Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on professional qualifications, between Canada and the EU. Please provide as much specificity as possible, including a description of the sector, relevant EU Member States, and the type of cooperation envisioned.
4. Barriers to Trade in Goods Affecting the Sale of Services
We are also aware that your organization may sell services which are dependent on the sale of a particular good. Should the selling of these services be related to the ability to sell certain goods abroad, we would be interested in hearing about these problems.
5. Other Issues
Please provide any additional information on problems encountered in the EU market or for a particular Member State.
1. Impediments to Entry to EU Markets
Many business persons must travel to foreign markets to facilitate trade and investment. What challenges does your organization face in obtaining entry visas and/or work permits for employees including executives, managers, management trainees, professional staff, specialized personnel and spouses of staff? In which Member States do you face the most challenges?
Examples of issues that may cause difficulties in getting entry visas and/or work permits include:
- documentation being refused as inadequate;
- education or skills training said to be inadequate;
- local restrictions on entry due to nationality, ethnicity, or gender;
- local restrictions on entry due to occupation;
- local quotas on foreign workers, including payroll quotas;
- lack of transparency regarding necessary procedures and requirements for entry visas and/or work permits;
- excessive delays in processing times;
- high fees for application/processing.
2. Impediments to Entry to the Canadian Market
The business of some Canadian service providers relies on the entry of Europeans into Canada. For example, Canadian firms may sell to Europeans in Canada, close deals during visits by prospective EU clients to Canada, and import services via the entry of EU business persons.
What challenges do you face in obtaining visas or work permits for EU visitors, clients or personnel you have invited to Canada?
3. Coverage of Professionals
For professional associations: Canada’s current approach for the coverage of professionals (which normally requires a four-year university degree) in bilateral trade agreements is to include all occupations at a professional level except the following:
a. All health, education, and social services occupations and related occupations, including:
- managers in health/education/social and community services
- physicians/dentists/optometrists/chiropractors/other health professions
- pharmacists, dieticians and nutritionists
- therapy and assessment professionals
- nurse supervisors and registered nurses
- psychologists/social workers
- university professors and assistants
- college and other vocational instructors
- secondary/elementary school teachers and counsellors
b. All professional occupations related to cultural industries as defined in Canada’s trade agreements as well as:
- managers in libraries, archives, museums and art galleries
- creative and performing artists
c. Recreation, sports and fitness program and service directors
d. Managers in telecommunication carriers
e. Managers in postal and courier services
f. Managers in manufacturing
g. Managers in utilities
h. Managers in construction and transportation
i. Judges, lawyers and notaries, except foreign legal consultants
Please comment on whether or not this list requires modification. If so, please describe suggested modifications.
4. Coverage of Technicians
For technical associations, Canada’s current approach is to omit technicians depending on negotiating strategies. Technicians have been included in our agreements with Peru and Colombia on a case-by-case basis, reflecting Canada’s labour market sensitivities and the interests of technical associations/industry.
The following is a list of occupations at the technical level that could be considered in our discussions with the EU. Please comment on whether or not this list requires modification:
- Civil engineering technologists and technicians
- Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
- Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians
- Construction inspectors and estimators
- Engineering inspectors, testers and regulatory officers
- Supervisors in the following: machinists and related occupations, printing and related occupations, mining and quarrying, oil and gas drilling and service, mineral and metal processing, petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities, food, beverage and tobacco processing, plastic and rubber products manufacturing, forest products processing, textile processing
- Contractors and supervisors in the following: electrical trades and telecommunications occupations, pipefitting trades, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades, carpentry trades, mechanic trades, heavy construction equipment crews, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
- Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians (Including industrial electricians)
- Electricians (Including electronic service technicians)
- Plumbers
- Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics
- Aircraft instrument, electrical and avionics mechanics, technicians and inspectors
- Underground production and development miners
- Oil and gas well drillers, servicers and testers
- Graphic designers and illustrators
- Interior designers
- Computer and information system technicians
- International purchasing and selling agents
With regard to investment, the relationship between Canada and the EU is enormous and continues to grow. The EU is the second largest investor in Canada, and Canada the fourth largest investor in the EU (2007). The following questions are aimed at furthering our understanding of the formal and informal barriers to Canadian investment in the EU.
1. Barriers to Investment
Are there particular areas where your company or a member of your association has experienced difficulty in establishing or maintaining an investment within an EU Member State? Potential issue areas could include:
- formal restrictions on foreign equity participation in particular sectors;
- limitations on the movement of personnel;
- residency requirements for members of boards/senior management;
- difficulties in transferring funds to and from your investment;
- non-transparent ownership and control conditions;
- variances in tax and social contributions;
- import controls;
- lack of regulatory transparency;
- difficulty concluding an investment due to EU competition law or policy.
Please provide the country name(s) and describe the area(s) of difficulty encountered.
2. Corporate Social Responsibility
As part of your existing investments in EU markets, do you follow any self-imposed constraints, such as voluntary codes of conduct (e.g. corporate social responsibility) related to environmental and social aspects of sustainable development?
3. Additional Information
Is there any additional information you would like to share with regard to your organization’s investment activities with the EU?
