May 30, 2019

Canada-Israel modernized free trade agreement gets Royal Assent

The Act to amend the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act and to make related amendments to other Acts (Bill C-85) received Royal Assent this week.

With both Canada and Israel having now completed their domestic ratification processes, the two countries will proceed to establish a date for the entry into force of the modernized agreement.

Once in force, the modernized Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) will increase market access by further reducing and eliminating tariffs on Canadian exports to the Israeli market, including new and improved market access for virtually 100% of Canadian exports of agricultural, agri-food and fish and seafood products.

New chapters cover e-commerce, intellectual property, labour, environment, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and trade facilitation.

Link: Modernized Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement