Celso Boscariol presiding at CETA Conference on June 7, 2013 in Vancouver.

The conference will take place at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia on Friday June 7, 2013 11:30 – 2PM.

Our keynote speaker will be Hon. Ed Fast, Canada’s Minister of International Trade.

Other speakers of note include His Excellency Gian Lorenzo Cornado, Italian Ambassador to Canada and Jock Finlayson, Executive Vice-President of the Business Council of BC.

Below are some interesting facts about the Canada EU relationship:

• Canada is one of the European Union’s oldest and closest economic and strategic partners.
• As an integrated block, the EU represents Canada’s second largest trading partner in goods and services. In 2010, Canadian goods and services exports to the EU totaled $49.1 billion, and imports from the EU amounted to $55.2 billion.
• Canada is the EU’s eleventh-largest partner for trade in manufactured goods. For trade in services, Canada accounts for 2.2% of the EU total, and the EU for 16% of the Canadian total. According to Statistics Canada, the EU is the second largest source of foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) in Canada, with the EU’s FDI totaling $148.7 billion at the end of 2010. In 2010, Canada’s EU FDI amounted to $145.7 billion, 23.6% of Canadian direct investment abroad. Eurostat identified Canada as the EU’s third largest FDI destination and its fourth largest source of FDI in 2009.
• A process that started in 2009 and should be finalized in 2013, the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement currently being negotiated between Canada and the European Union sees both sides committed to an ambitious and comprehensive agreement that goes far beyond WTO obligations with an unprecedented degree of liberalization of trade in goods and services.

As you can see, Canada’s, and by extension BC’s trade relationship with the EU is significant with great potential for growth presenting trade and investment opportunities for BC businesses in Europe as well as drawing investment form Europe to BC.