Ireland trade with Canada has nearly doubled since an EU trade deal entered into force in 2017, the government says.
The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) provisionally entered into force within months of its signing.
The deal did away with tariffs on 99 percent of EU-Canadian trade. In a new report, the government says that led to a huge boost in Irish-Canadian trade.
“Canada–Ireland trade has nearly doubled since the introduction of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in 2017, reaching US$9.6 billion in 2023. Ireland is now Canada’s 15th largest trading partner, while Canada ranks 16th for Ireland”, the report says.
Canadian foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ireland is up by 131 percent since 2016, while Irish investment in Canada rose by 35 per cent, it adds.
But after eight years, the deal still cannot officially fully enter into force because not all EU member states and Canada have ratified it.
Ireland, Belgium and Poland are amongst the countries still to complete the ratification process on the European side.
Ireland was against ratifying CETA due to a Supreme Court ruling in 2022 which stated the agreement’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism was unconstitutional and would infringe on Irish sovereignty.
An amendment to Arbitration Act is expected to address the concerns raised by the Supreme Court, paving the way for CETA to be ratified in Ireland by the end of this year.
Launching the report on the Canada-Ireland economic relationship, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne TD, said:
“The Ireland-Canada relationship is built on shared values, economic opportunities and strong links between our people.
Canada is a key export market for Ireland, and an important location for Ireland’s new Action Plan on Market Diversification. The Government of Ireland warmly welcomes the opportunity to engage on the significant potential for future growth in trade and investment between our two countries.
This new economic report affirms the strength of the Ireland-Canada economic relationship and demonstrates the vast opportunities for growth in the future.”