The Canada–Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) is a free trade agreement between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

History

It was signed on July 31, 1996, and came into effect on January 1, 1997. It was Canada's first free trade agreement outside of the

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. 80% Tariffs on most manufactured and agricultural goods were eliminated. However, CIFTA does not affect certain agriculture sectors like

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

and eggs. CIFTA was amended in 2002, 2003 and 2015. On May 27, 2019, Bill C-85 went before parliament to amend CIFTA and received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

. This most recent amendment was in force from September 1, 2019. The first amendment allows certain products like textiles to undergo some levels of processing in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

without losing their status while in transit. The second amendment further reduced agricultural tariffs. CIFTA's main goals include: *The elimination of trade barriers and tariffs *Promotion of fair competition *The increase of investments between the two nations While Israel is not one of Canada's major trading partners, the Canadian government sought to put Canadian businesses on the same footing as US businesses, who were benefiting from the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement. Bilateral trade increased to $1.24 billion by 2005 .

History of trade balances

Amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars ($CDN).

Exploratory discussions for the modernization

There are a number of ongoing discussions for the modernization of the agreement.

References

External links

Text of the treaty

Canada–Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) page
on the Rules of Origin Facilitator, with member countries' status and access to legal documents. {{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement

Free trade agreements of Israel 1996 in Israel Treaties concluded in 1996 Treaties entered into force in 1997 Canada–Israel relations 1996 in Canada 1996 in Canadian law