The Canada–Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (CCRFTA) is a free trade agreement between

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was signed on April 23, 2001 in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and came into effect on November 1, 2002. It is the first bilateral free trade agreement to include innovative stand-alone procedures on trade. 87% of all tariffs on agricultural products were eliminated, either immediately, or over a 7-14 year period. Tariffs on many other industries like automotive goods and goods were also eliminated. Several sectors of agriculture were excluded from the treaty;

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

being excluded, and Costa Rica decided to leave

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

out of the FTA. Both nations agreed to use the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

rules for sanitary and phytosanitary issues (known as the SPS agreement). The main goals of the FTA include: *The establishment of free trade *The creation of opportunities for economic development *The elimination of trade barriers *The promotion of fair competition In the first 3 years of the agreement, trade increased by 36% (from $324 million to $440 million). It has been proposed that the

Free Trade Area of the Americas The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas, excluding Cuba. Negotiations to establish the FTAA ended in failure, however, with all parties unab ...

be modeled after the CCRFTA.

History of trade balances

Amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars.

Negotiations for modernization

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

References

External links

Text of the treaty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement Free trade agreements of Canada Treaties concluded in 2001 Treaties entered into force in 2002 2001 in Canada 2001 in Costa Rica Treaties of Costa Rica Canada–Costa Rica relations