Below is a list of the countries and trade blocs with which Canada has ongoing free trade agreements. [7] Last November, Australia concluded its free trade negotiations with China, leading Canadian business groups to call on the federal government to do the same and expand its existing trade negotiations. In June, China and South Korea signed a free trade agreement, China`s largest bilateral trade agreement. The Chinese experience of recent free trade agreements (New Zealand, Australia and Chile) indicates that they may be prepared to address tariffs and other trade barriers in certain sectors (malt, barley, pulses, beef and pork). If there was a consensus on the feasibility of a free trade agreement with China, it would require a large number of important and highly sensitive issues. Many of Canada`s food and agri-food export interests are China`s most sensitive and are important limits to trade expansion. Canada`s quest for a free trade agreement with China had already suffered a series of setbacks: Beijing refused to accept Ottawa`s demands for gender, labor and environmental clauses in such an agreement. The exploratory interviews have not taken place for several years. There is no doubt that bilateral trade between China and Canada is a very different issue.
Since 1997, China has become one of Canada`s major trading partners; that is, it has become an important export market for Canadian products (finished and unfinished) as well as a rich source of imported goods. Indeed, despite the recent decline in economic activity, Canadian exports to China continue to grow at an exceptional rate. Empirical evidence shows that, in the case of Canada, genuine trade diversification and export growth in the provinces have been largely fuelled by Chinese demand for raw materials. In addition, China has been identified not as an investor, but as a major importer of industrial, agricultural and forestry products at several provincial financial sites. The existing trade balance between Canada and the CPP is a concern.