Top 20 Countdown Treaty Developments

Top 20 Countdown Canadian Government Procurement Treaty Developments
January 2011 Update By Paul Emanuelli

Canada and Asia
Canada and Singapore: Eighth round of negotiations took place August 2007.
Canada and South Korea: Negotiations began in July 2005. Thirteenth round of negotiations ended March 2008.
Canada and India: Negotiations launched November 2010.

Canada and Morocco
Meetings are held in Ottawa in June 2009.
Canadian public consultations are launched in October 2009.
Canada and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
Negotiations between Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland finished on June 7, 2007. Implementation legislation came into effect on July 1, 2009. This treaty incorporates the rules from the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement.

Canada and the Central American Four (CA4)
Negotiations between Canada and Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua have been ongoing since 2001. Following a December 2010 round of negotiations, Canada is close to an agreement with Honduras. The status of negotiations with the other three countries remains unclear.

Canada and the Caribbean
After the European Union and the Caribbean sign a trade treaty in October 2008, Canada commenced negotiations with Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago. The second round of discussions is concluded in Barbados in March 2010.
Canada and the United States On February 12, 2010, Canada and the United States signed The Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement which temporarily opened exempt Canadian provincial and territorial construction projects to U.S. bidders in exchange for exempting Canada from the Buy American provisions of U.S. federal stimulus spending. The parties commit to further talks to expand the GPA and NAFTA beyond the federal sectors.

Canada and the European Union
The fifth round of negotiations finished in November 2010. Two more negotiation rounds are scheduled for January 2011 in Ottawa and April 2011 in Brussels. Expanding open procurement is a major focal point as the parties have stated that a “successful negotiation will include explicit commitments from provincial and territorial governments.” Canada’s provinces and territories are participating in the trade talks.

Canada and Eastern Europe
Canada and Ukraine: The first round of negotiations took place in Kiev, Ukraine in May 2010.
Canada and Turkey: Meetings took place in Ottawa in February 2010 and in Ankara in October 2010. Canadian public consultations were launched in August 2010.
Canada and the Andean Countries
Discussions with the Andean countries began in 2002. Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement implementation legislation received Royal Assent August 1, 2009. Canada-Columbia Free Trade Agreement implementation legislation received Royal Assent June 30, 2010. Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement signed May 14, 2010. Discussions continue with Bolivia and Ecuador.

Canada and the Provinces and Territories
In October 2009 the federal, provincial and territorial governments entered into the Tenth Protocol of Amendment, which gave suppliers the right to launch their own panel-based challenges under Chapter 5 of the Agreement on Internal Trade. The amendment establishes penalties of up to $5 million for government-to-government disputes, but does not extend those