International Trade Agreements and Local Government a Guide for Canadian Municipalities
fcm.ca/en/resources/comprehensive-economic-and-trade-agreementReferences Accordingly, Part II is aimed at municipal officials who can be deployed in a selective and targeted manner, as they focus on specific trade agreements and provisions related to the relevance of a particular municipal program or activity. In the case of covered procurement, contracting entities in Canada and the EU, including at the municipal level, treat goods, services and suppliers of the other Party in the same manner as domestic goods, services and suppliers. The focus is on promoting open competition and free trade. Nevertheless, many communities will be exempt from these procurement obligations if they purchase goods or services that cost less than $340,600 and less than $8.5 million for construction services. Commercial goods or services: Goods or services of a type that are generally sold or offered for sale in the commercial market to and are generally purchased by non-governmental buyers for non-governmental purposes. Almost all Canadian municipalities (and other forms of local government) are listed in Schedule 19-2 under their respective provinces or territories. State-owned enterprises, including in the area of utilities, are listed in Annex 19-3, Section A, for each province and territory. An essential feature of the WTO that distinguishes it from most other international organizations is its binding dispute settlement procedures. These procedures are contained in the Agreement on Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures (DSU). Article 1109 requires each Party to freely and expeditiously authorize the transfer of funds related to investments (such as profits, loan payments and liquidations). The article also prohibits the forced repatriation of funds (i.e.
by the local government). Certain exceptions are permitted to enforce laws of general application, such as those relating to bankruptcy and securities trading. (A limited exception for balance of payments difficulties is provided for in Article 2104).) Section B of Chapter 7 of NAFTA refers to sanitary and phytosanitary measures that may affect trade between the Parties and is similar to the WTO SPS Agreement described above. The measures referred to are defined in Article 724 and include a number of measures to protect human, animal and plant life and health. Technical regulation: A technical regulation is a document that specifies the characteristics of a product or the associated production processes and methods. It is mandatory and enforced by the government. It may also relate exclusively to terminology or labelling requirements, such as those applicable to a product, process or production method. At the end of formal negotiations, the draft text is usually initialled by the chief negotiators.
This was followed by a legal review of the negotiated text, on which the chief negotiators agreed. At this stage, the parties` contracting experts are working together to revise the text to ensure that the wording reflects the intention of the negotiators and respects countries` obligations under other agreements. The translation of the text, if necessary, is also part of this phase. Chapter 11 of NAFTA deals with the Obligations of the Parties with respect to the treatment of investors and investments of the other Party in their territory. Investment agreements create a regulatory framework that helps provide investors with a more predictable and secure investment climate, as well as procedures to resolve disputes between investors and NAFTA governments. FIPA: Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Foreign Investment. Canada has 24 such bilateral agreements aimed at opening up foreign investment markets and protecting the interests of Canadian investors in those markets. Where an exception or reservation does not apply, Article 1106 prohibits any Party from imposing certain requirements relating to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, execution or exploitation of an investment by an investor of a Party or non-Party in its territory. Prohibited performance requirements include, but are not limited to, export or local content quotas and technology transfer requirements. It should be noted, however, that Article 1106(4) specifies that Contracting Parties are not precluded from making the receipt of a benefit subject to compliance with the obligation to locate production, to provide a service, to train or employ workers, to construct or expand installations or to carry out research and development activities in their territory. In addition, paragraph 6 of Article 1106 provides that Parties shall not be prevented from taking or maintaining certain measures, including for environmental purposes, unless they are applied arbitrarily or unjustifiably or do not constitute a disguised restriction on trade or investment.
The measures authorised shall include those necessary to protect human, animal and plant life. Below is a more detailed overview of article 1106. The Joint Working Group provides an opportunity to inform municipalities about ongoing international trade negotiations in Canada and ensures that their views on trade issues are taken into account when developing trade policy positions. For a complete list of public tenders for all provincial governments in Canada, please contact Commercial Specialist Mehdi Azeriah at Mehdi.Azeriah@trade.gov. The following key questions and examples can be used as a guide to determine which provisions might apply. Doha Round: name of the WTO Round of trade negotiations launched in 2001. Ministers of WTO Member States met in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001 to launch negotiations that should give priority to the needs and concerns of developing countries. Creating opportunities for Canadian suppliers in foreign government procurement has long been an important objective of Canadian trade policy, particularly with respect to the United States. Expanding and gaining access to these markets was therefore a key objective for Canada in the NAFTA negotiations.
The United States Export-Import (EXIM) Bank provides trade and project finance support to U.S. exporters. EXIM wants to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the United States, particularly those exporting to the following key industrial sectors: oil and gas, mining, agri-food, renewable energy, construction equipment and services, medical equipment and services, aircraft and avionics, power generation and related services. Article 19.9 sets out the information that procuring entities are required to provide to ensure that suppliers are able to prepare and submit tenders. This includes a description of the type and quantity of goods or services purchased, the conditions of participation of suppliers and the evaluation criteria used to select a supplier. .