ACCESSION : Process by which a country becomes a contracting party of a multilateral agreement. For example, the round of negotiations of the WTO’s contracting parties determines the engagements each non-member country must enter into in order to become eligible for the advantages granted by adherence to the WTO.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT (ITA): This agreement, sponsored by the WTO and signed by over 50 member countries, aims to eliminate duties and customs on I.T. and communications products.
EUROPEAN FREE TRADE ASSOCIATION (EFTA) : Founded at the Stockholm Conference in 1960, it started out with seven members. The evolution of the EFTA was marked by the addition of new members as well as new countries to the E.U. Today, it is composed of 4 members: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA): Often refers to the Free trade agreement between Canada and the U.S.A., which came into effect on January 1st, 1989.
CANADA-CHILE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (CCFTA): Free trade agreement between Canada and Chile, which came into effect on July 5th, 1997.
CANADA-COSTA RICA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (CCRFTA): Free trade agreement between Canada and Costa Rica, which came into effect on November 1st, 2002.
CANADA-ISRAEL FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (CIFTA): Free trade agreement between Canada and Israel, which came into effect on January 1st, 1997.
NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (NAFTA): Free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A., which came into effect in January of 1994.
ANTI-DUMPING: Special tax charged by an importing country when it feels that an imported good, priced below the ‘regular’ market value of the exporting country or priced below its cost of production, is causing an important prejudice to the importing country’s national industry.
ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC): This association aims to develop economic cooperation between the countries in the Pacific region . It is composed of 21 members: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, the Republic of Korea, U.S.A., Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New-Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam.
CENTRAL AMERICA FOUR (CA4): El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are presently negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada.
COOPERATION COUCIL FOR THE ARAB STATES OF THE GULF (G.C.C.): On May 26th, 1981, an agreement was reached between the six Persian Gulf monarchies: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
QUOTA: Quantities, usually determined by size or by value, of a commodity which contracting countries may import, or quantities which exporting contracting countries may not exceed. The contingency can be applied « selectively », with limits that vary according to the exporting country, or they can be applied globally, with a limit only on the total quantity, thus favouring the most efficient suppliers.
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE (GATT): From 1947 to 1995, this multilateral institution supervised the international commercial system and the international agreement overseeing the commerce of goods (GATT of 1947). In January 1995, the WTO replaced this organization. The 1994 GATT agreement was modified and its articles were incorporated into the new WTO agreements, which continue to regiment the international trade of goods and services.
CAIRNS GROUP: Coalition of 17 agricultural exporting countries (South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New-Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, Thailand and Uruguay), which elaborates propositions related to multilateral trade negotiations.
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI): Funds engaged in a foreign corporation. An investor who acquires 10% or more of a foreign corporation’s stocks makes a foreign direct investment.
LIBERALIZATION: Bilateral or multilateral agreements concerning measures limiting tariffs and other deregulatory commercial measures for international trade.
MOST-FAVOURED-NATION TREATMENT (MFN): 1994 WTO article 1 forbids countries from making distinctions according to a product’s country of origin.
NON-TARIFF BARRIERS – MEASURES: Measures or government policies other than custom duties, which limit or alter international trade.
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD): Association of industrialized countries based in Paris, whose goal is to study questions concerning the economy, trade, sciences and education, and to collaborate in these domains.
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO): Established on January 1st, 1995, it replaced the GATT; it is the cornerstone of the international trade system.
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP): Total value of all products and services produced by a country.
DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: Commercial negotiation program of the WTO, launched during the ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar in November 2001.
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: Institutional measures defined within an international agreement to solve disputes between the parties.
RULES OF ORIGIN: Law, measure or administrative procedure that determines a product’s country of origin. The rules of origin can be used to determine a product’s accessibility to a specific market, to determine a preferred custom duty or whether the product falls under a quota or an anti-dumping measure. The rules can change according to the country of origin or the different free trade agreements, all they are not all established for the same purposes.
SUBSIDY: Fiscal advantage a producer receives from a government, usually to boost their competitiveness. The subsidy can be direct (cash subsidy) or indirect (exportation credits with low interest rates guaranteed by a governmental institution.
TARIFF: Tax applied to an imported good. It can be a tax ad valorem (percentage of the value) or according to a specific type of calculation. Tariffs provide a competitive edge to similar goods that are locally produced, while providing revenues for governments.
TRANSPARENCY: Accessibility and clarity of the laws and regulations. FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS (FTAA) : Agreement proposition between the 34 democratic countries of the Occidental hemisphere. The FTAA was created in Miami in 1994, and negotiations were launched in Santiago, Chile in 1998.
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