Focus on: Canada
Straddling six time zones,
the second-largest country in the world has
strong historic and economic ties to the UK,
writes emma allen
Canada is vast. The second-largest country in the world stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, meaning there is plenty of opportunity for ambitious UK business.
Much of its interior is beautiful wilderness, but Canada’s cosmopolitan cities like Toronto and Vancouver regularly top the ‘best places to live’ listings and the country ranks highly for its education levels, government transparency and disposable income per capita. It is also one of the world’s biggest economies, taking tenth place in the 2018 IMF global ranking of GDP value, ahead of Russia and South Korea.
A long shared history between Canada and the UK has helped forge strong alliances between the two countries – we share the same head of state and a common language, after all. Economically, there are already well-established trade links too, making Canada an accessible option for UK firms, particularly as its legal and business practices are built on the UK’S systems.
Two years ago, trade between the two countries was given a big boost when the Comprehensive
Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was brought in, boosting investment and making it far easier to trade goods and services between Canada and the EU.
Labelled ‘the most ambitious trade agreement that the EU has ever concluded’, CETA threw open the door to UK firms keen to bid for Canadian public contracts, and in turn, meant that British importers have seen taxes reduced to zero on some 9,000 Canadian products.
The UK’S International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said: “British businesses and consumers are already feeling the benefits since the agreement came provisionally into force. The agreement eliminates almost every tariff on goods traded between our two countries and we will transition it into UK law after we leave the European Union so that businesses can continue to enjoy as free and frictionless trade as possible.”
Post-brexit, the hope is that trade relations remain unhindered. Department for International Trade figures show that the UK exports around £8.2billion of goods and services to Canada each year, making it our eighth-biggest export market outside the EU. Key exports include air and space craft, pharmaceutical products, boilers and electronic equipment.
In return, the UK is by far Canada’s most important commercial partner in Europe. Over the last five years, the UK has grown into Canada’s second-largest goods export market after the United States.
However, there are considerations for UK firms wanting to enter the Canadian market. Canada’s federal structure means each province has its own regulatory processes in place, meaning good local research is needed to ensure the legal requirements are met for products in each location. Canada’s sheer size may be another issue – it may be worth using a local agent or representation to work around distance and time zones.
While Brexit uncertainty continues, there are signs that positive trade ties with Canada are being given a new focus by the UK government. Speaking recently, UK High Commissioner to Canada, Susan le Jeune d’allegeershecque, said she was confident the two countries could avoid tariffs in the event of a no-deal exit from the EU, with officials from both sides holding talks to preserve existing CETA rules.