PRESS RELEASE 
EMBARGO  
NOT FOR PUBLICATION, OR DISTRIBUTION BY NEWS AGENCIES UNTIL 
1400 GENEVA TIME ( 1300  GMT) 21 MARCH 2007  
 
PRESS/TPRB/280 
21 March 2007 
 
(07-1160) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: CANADA 
Trade regime remains open but some barriers persist 
The outward-looking orientation of Canada’s trad e regime has facilitated the economy’s successful 
adjustment to a number of external shocks, and helps explain Canada’s good economic 
performance during the last four years, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies 
and practices of Canada.  
The report notes, however, that productivity gr owth has been relatively slow, significant trade 
barriers still protect certain agricultural activities, and foreign investment restrictions remain in some areas such as telecommunications, audiovisual, and air transport. 
 
The report stresses that reform in these sectors could lower costs to Canadian taxpayers and consumers while increasing productivity and competition in the domestic market.  
 
The report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Canada, will be the basis for the 
eighth Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Canada by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 21 
and 23 March 2007. 
 The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/ tratop_e/tpr_e/tp280.htm  
 • Secretariat report 
> Contents and summary observations  
> Economic environment  > Trade and investment regimes  
> Trade policies and practices by measure  
> Trade policies by sector  > Appendix tables  
• Report by the Government of Canada 
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
• Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). 
 PRESS/TPRB/280 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each 
review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William 
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at 
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews  
 
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States 
 
Next reviews: 
Costa Rica:  16 and 18 April 2007 
Macao, China : 30 April and 2 May 2007 
India : 23 and 25 May 2007 
 
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews 
 
 
END