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Has CETA Been Truly Effective In Boosting Bilateral Trades?

Nearly 10 months has passed since the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on 21 September 2017.

CETA is a bilateral trade agreement between the EU and Canada that by removing 99% of customs duties bilaterally has aimed to boost bilateral trade and create predictable conditions for both EU and Canadian investors. But has it lived up to its objectives for top EU countries including Italy or has it mainly benefited Canadian companies? This has been an ongoing debate.

According to statistics provided by Christian Sivière of Solimpex to us, while the export from Canada to some European countries including France, UK (to be soon excluded from CETA), and Belgium has been reduced compared to the last year, import from all major European countries has seen an increase since the implementation of CETA.

Italy’s Export to Canada [Import to Canada Column on the Image] has seen an increase of 11% while its import from Canada [Export from Canada Column on the Image] has increased for 10% making Italy one of the top 4 beneficiaries of CETA agreement based on this statistics result when it comes to exporting  (after Belgium,  France, & Austria).  Same wise, italy ranks among the top 5 whose import from Canada [Export from Canada Column on the Image] has been positively affected by CETA.  Moreover, Italy is in the top 2 countries whose import to and export from Canada has been affected proportionally with 11% and 10% respectively preceded by Austria (14% for both import and export).

In short, while it may be too early to judge CETA’s performance, based on these statistics it is fair to conclude that CETA is already helping companies in the European Union including Italy to sell their products in Canada and compete with their Canadian competitors with less barriers in the Canadian Market.