Order Fixing the Date of Entry into Force of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine as the Day on Which the Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023 Comes into Force: SI/2024-16
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 10
Registration
SI/2024-16 May 8, 2024
CANADA–UKRAINE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2023
Order Fixing the Date of Entry into Force of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine as the Day on Which the Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023 Comes into Force
P.C. 2024-383 April 19, 2024
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister for International Trade, under subsection 40(1) of the Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, chapter 3 of the Statutes of Canada, 2024, fixes the date of entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine, done at Ottawa on September 22, 2023, as the day on which that Act comes into force, other than subsections 19(3), 20(2) and (4), 21(2), 22(2), 23(2), 24(2), 25(2) and 26(2).
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order.)
Proposal
Pursuant to subsection 40(1) of the Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023 (the Act), this Order fixes the day on which the Act comes into force as the day on which the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine, done at Ottawa on September 22, 2023 (the modernized CUFTA), enters into force. Pursuant to subsection 40(2) of the Act, subsections 19(3), 20(2) and (4), 21(2), 22(2), 23(2), 24(2), 25(2) and 26(2) come into force on the sixth anniversary of the day fixed by this Order.
Objective
The objective of this Order is to bring into force provisions of the Act that are necessary to implement the modernized CUFTA.
Background
The Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine, done in Kyiv on July 11, 2016 (the 2017 CUFTA), included a review clause that committed the Parties to review the 2017 CUFTA within two years of its entry into force, with a view to expanding it. In July 2019, the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of Ukraine announced the intention to modernize the 2017 CUFTA. Canada and Ukraine launched negotiations to modernize the 2017 CUFTA on January 27, 2022. On September 22, 2023, the Canadian Prime Minister and Ukrainian President signed the modernized CUFTA.
The modernized CUFTA includes new, dedicated chapters on cross-border trade in services, development and administration of measures, investment (which supersedes and improves on the Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ukraine for the Promotion and Protection of Investments done at Ottawa on October 24, 1994), temporary entry for business people, telecommunications, financial services, trade and gender, trade and small and medium-sized enterprises, trade and Indigenous peoples and good regulatory practices. It also includes upgrades to chapters of the 2017 CUFTA on rules of origin and origin procedures, digital trade, competition policy, designated monopolies and state enterprises, government procurement, environment, labour, as well as transparency, anti-corruption and responsible business conduct.
Commercial benefits to Canada from the modernized CUFTA, including increased opportunities for investors and service providers, are anticipated following the resumption of the growth of the Parties’ trade and investment levels post-war.
Implications
Once in force, the Act will implement Canada’s commitments under the modernized CUFTA. The Act will
- specify that no civil action or other proceeding may be taken without the consent of the Attorney General of Canada, with stipulated exceptions, to enforce or determine any right or obligation that is claimed or arises under the “Implementation of the Agreement” section of the Act, or under the Agreement;
- approve the modernized CUFTA;
- provide rules of general application that are intended to implement the operational aspects of the 2023 CUFTA. For example, the Act designates the Minister for International Trade as the principal representative of Canada on the Commission, which oversees the implementation and operation of the modernized CUFTA, and provides for the Minister’s appointment of representatives to any committee or subcommittee referred to in Article 27.1 of the modernized CUFTA;
- ensure that Canadian companies operating in Ukraine comply with the responsible business conduct principles and guidelines referred to in Article 15.14 of the Agreement. In this regard, the Act provides for a complaints process and ministerial reporting requirement;
- amend existing laws to add references to the modernized CUFTA and to replace references to the 2017 CUFTA with references to the modernized CUFTA. For example, to ensure that the Commercial Arbitration Act applies to claims filed under the investment chapter of the modernized CUFTA, this law is being amended to include a reference to the CUFTA;
- amend existing laws to reflect Canada’s obligations under the modernized CUFTA. For example, the emergency action provisions of the 2017 CUFTA are not carried forward, as they will be expired by the time the 2023 CUFTA comes into force — accordingly, section 75 of the Customs Tariff is being repealed, which is the principal enabling provision in domestic law for these emergency action provisions, along with other consequential repeals; and
- repeal the 2017 Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.
Bringing the Act into force will also enable Canada to bring the modernized CUFTA into force at international law. Pursuant to Article 30.6 of the modernized CUFTA, these steps include Canada notifying Ukraine that it has completed all of its domestic processes.
Any costs associated with the implementation of the modernized CUFTA will be funded within existing reference levels of Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and other relevant departments or agencies.
Consultation
Following the announcement in July 2019 of plans to modernize the 2017 CUFTA, GAC conducted public consultations from February 15 to March 16, 2020. In addition to provincial and territorial governments, GAC received submissions from businesses and industry associations, society organizations, and individuals.
In general, submissions were supportive of the CUFTA modernization as a means of strengthening the Canadian–Ukrainian bilateral commercial relationship and building on Canada’s current engagement in Ukraine. Canadian stakeholder support for the modernized CUFTA is also expected to have increased as a result of the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022, given the opportunity for a modernized CUFTA to support Ukraine’s economic recovery and international trade interests.
During the legislative process in the House and Senate, interested parliamentarians received briefings on the modernized CUFTA and its implementing legislation, and parliamentary committees reviewed and approved the legislation.
Contact
Dean Foster
Director
Trade Policy and Negotiations for Europe, Middle East and Africa
Global Affairs Canada
111 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 1J1
Email: Dean.Foster@international.gc.ca