WORLD TRADE WT/REG31/1
7October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4052)
Original: English
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN
CANADA AND ISRAEL
Communication from theParties totheAgreement
Thefollowing communication, dated 1October 1996, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission ofCanada andIsrael, withtherequest thatitbedistributed toWTO Members.
_______________
ThePermanent Mission ofCanada andthePermanent Mission ofIsrael withtoinform WTO
Members thattheir authorities have concluded negotiations fortheestablishment ofafreetrade
agreement. Theagreement iscurrently submitted toourrespective legislatures forratification. The
entry intoforce oftheagreement isschedule for1January 1997.
Upon ratification, Canada andIsrael willproceed tosubmit anotification totheCouncil for
TradeinGoodsinaccordancewithparagraph7(a)ofArticleXXIVofGATT1994andtheUnderstanding
ontheInterpretation ofArticle XXIV ofGATT 1994.
Ashort description ofthecontent oftheCanada-Israel FreeTrade Agreement ispresented
below.
SUMMARY OFTHE CANADA-ISRAEL FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Thekeyfeature oftheCanada-Israel FreeTrade Agreement istheextensive elimination of
tariffs onCanadian andIsraeli goods. With theexception oftwoproducts, alltariffs onindustrial
products areeliminated immediately upon implementation oftheAgreement. Thepackage oftariff
concessions fortheagriculture andfishsectors covers awiderange ofproducts ofexport interest to
bothcountries, involving about 80percentofcurrent agri-food trade between thetwoParties.
Other areas oftradewillcontinue tobegoverned bytherights andobligations under theWorld
Trade Organization (WTO). These include national treatment, non-tariff barriers, technical barriers,
temporary entry ofbusiness persons, tradeinservices, trade-related investment measures, government
procurement, subsidies andcountervailing duties, anti-dumping duties andintellectual property rights.
Thescheduled dateofimplementation fortheAgreement is1January 1997.WT/REG31/1
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Tariffs: Industrial Products
Withtwoexceptions, tariffs areremoved immediately onallindustrial goods ofCanadian and
Israeli origin.
Thetwoexceptions aretheCanadian tariffonwomen 'sswimwear andtheIsraeli tariffoncertain
cotton fabrics, bothofwhich willbephased outovertwoandahalfyears.
Tariffs arealsoeliminated forgoods thatundergo repair oralteration intheother Party.
Tariffs: Agricultural andFisheries Products
Duty-free access orlowratesofdutyforspecific items ofexport interest tobothCanada and
Israel, including grains, grain products, oilseeds, pulse crops, selected fresh produce, beef,
maplesugar,sugar-containingproducts,alcoholicbeveragesandvariousprocessedfoodproducts.
Supply-managed dairy, poultry andeggproducts areexcluded fromtheelimination oftariffs
under theAgreement.
TheParties willrenew discussions within twoyears withaviewtofurther liberalization of
agri-food trade.
Rules ofOrigin
Therulesoforigin arebased onchanges intariffclassification under theHarmonized System
fortariff classification.
Therules oforigin are,onthewhole, lessrestrictive thanthose under theNorth American
FreeTrade Agreement andreflect thestructure andopenness oftheCanadian andIsraeli
economies.
Since bothCanada andIsrael havefreetrade agreements withtheUnited States, U.S.-made
materials will,under specific circumstances, betreated asoriginating inputs when usedto
produce goods inCanada forexport toIsrael andtoproduct goods inIsrael forexport toCanada.
TheFTAwillalsoallow some minor processing ofotherwise originating goods while they
areintransit intheUnited States. Thiswillbelimited toprocesses which areincidental to
theproduction ofgoods, suchasminor decorative, packaging orcleaning processes andwill
beallowed oncetheParties establish appropriate verification procedures.
Therules oforigin aretobereviewed intwoyears toseewhere theycanbeimproved.
Emergency Action: Safeguards
During thefirsttwoandahalfyears oftheAgreement, aParty maytakeabilateral safeguard
action if,asaresult oftariffelimination, imports ofagoodfromtheotherParty areasubstantial
cause ofserious injury.
TheParties would onlyinclude eachother inanyglobal safeguard action under stringent
conditions.WT/REG31/1
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Non-TariffBarriers,NationalTreatment,TechnicalBarriers,SanitaryandPhytosanitaryMeasures,
Trade-Related Investment Measures, Temporary Entry ofBusiness Persons, Anti-Dumping,
Subsidies andCountervailing Duties, Government Procurement
These areas continue tobegoverned byWTO rights andobligations.
Quantitative trade restrictions andother import orexport non-tariff barriers arenotallowed,
except asexplicitly provided forunder theAgreement (e.g.provincial export restrictions on
logsandfish).
Competition Policy
TheAgreement includes provisions oncompetition lawandpolicy todealwithanti-competitive
andmonopolistic actions bypublic andprivate parties.
Dispute Settlement
TheAgreement includes abinding dispute settlement panel process.