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Canada's Objectives for Negotiations for a Canada-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement

On December 13, 2021, the Government of Canada submitted to Parliament its notice of intent to enter into negotiations toward a new, comprehensive Canada-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (FTA), in accordance with the Policy on Tabling of Treaties in Parliament.

In negotiating an FTA with the United Kingdom, the government’s objective will be to create meaningful benefits for Canadian business, workers and families. Through an FTA, the government will seek to provide Canadians with increased preferential access to the United Kingdom, benefiting Canadian exporters of both goods and services. The government will seek to ensure that the benefits and opportunities of trade with the United Kingdom are widely shared, including with traditionally underrepresented groups, such as women and women-owned businesses, Indigenous peoples, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In addition to seeking improved preferential access, Canada will seek to conclude a modern, ambitious and inclusive trade agreement, reflecting the latest approaches, including in areas such as digital trade, trade and gender, climate, environment and labour. In addition, the government will seek to ensure that the FTA does not prevent the federal government from acting to fulfil Canada’s legal obligations to Indigenous peoples, including rights as recognized and affirmed by Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and those rights set out in self-government agreements. The government will seek to preserve flexibility to adopt and maintain measures related to Canada’s cultural sector. The government will also fully defend Canada’s supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs, including by not conceding any additional market access for supply-managed goods.

In pursuing a Canada-United Kingdom FTA, the government will continue to be guided by feedback obtained from Canadians during public consultations. This includes feedback received during public consultation on priorities for trade negotiations with the United Kingdom in spring 2021, as well as through ongoing engagement with a broad range of stakeholders to be conducted throughout the negotiating process. The government will also be guided by the findings of the Environmental Assessment and the Gender-Based Analysis Plus of the proposed FTA.

The government is fully committed to a high level of transparency throughout the negotiation of a Canada-United Kingdom FTA. In this spirit, the government has agreed to publish a summary of its specific negotiating objectives for the negotiation of new comprehensive trade agreements.

In line with the considerations listed above, Canada will seek to negotiate an FTA that:

Trade in goods

National Treatment and Market Access for Goods

Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures

Customs and Trade Facilitation

Trade Remedies

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Technical Barriers to Trade

Investment and trade in services

Investment

Cross-Border Trade in Services

Development and Administration of Measures (Domestic Regulation)

Financial Services

Temporary Entry for Business Purposes

Telecommunications

Other areas

Digital Trade (Electronic Commerce)

Government Procurement

Intellectual Property

Competition Policy

State-Owned Enterprises and Designated Monopolies

Labour

Environment

Science, Technology and Innovation

Transparency and Anti-Corruption

Responsible Business Conduct

Regulatory Cooperation and Good Regulatory Practices

Trade and Gender

Trade and Indigenous Peoples

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Administrative

Dispute Settlement

Institutional and General Exceptions

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