Press release 28 April 2009
Ministry for Foreign Affairs

EU to open free trade negotiations with Canada

The EU Member States took a decision at the Council meeting in Brussels today to give the European Commission a mandate to open negotiations on a free trade agreement with Canada.

"The economic gains from a new free trade agreement between the EU and Canada would be significant, around EUR 11.6 billion every year according to a study presented in October 2008. Trade in services accounts for around half of the expected gains, with one quarter covered by reduced and abolished customs duties and the other quarter by regulatory simplification and other non-tariff barriers to trade," says Minister for Trade Ewa Björling.

"At the same time, the decision is politically important; it sends out a signal that the EU wants to continue its tangible and operative efforts to remove barriers to trade, facilitate investment and open up the economy. This approach is crucial if we want to reverse the economic downturn as quickly as possible," says Dr Björling.
According to European Commission estimates, trade in goods between the EU and Canada is currently worth EUR 49.8 billion annually (2008), while trade in services is valued at EUR 21.2 billion (2007).

The largest product categories exported from Sweden to Canada are pharmaceuticals, cars, refined mineral oil products and engineering products and machinery. Imports include ores, pharmaceuticals, aircraft, energy-producing machinery, and iron and steel.

Sweden's exports of goods to Canada were worth SEK 11.1 billion in 2008, while imports were worth around SEK 3.5 billion. In 2006 there were 140 Swedish subsidiaries established in Canada, while 68 Canadian companies were active on the Swedish market in 2005.