The year 2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of the implementation of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCoFTA) which entered into force on August 15, 2011. Although the tariff reductions committed to in the agreement are not yet fully implemented, Canadian exporters have already benefited from reduced or eliminated tariffs on nearly all of their exports to Colombia.Footnote1 The implementation of CCoFTA also provides a more predictable, transparent and rules-based trading environment for Canadian investors and businesses.Footnote2
The 10-year post-implementation period has provided enough facts and data that a thorough and objective assessment of the CCoFTA can now be performed to examine whether the agreement has delivered on its benefits and potential. This report will review the trade performances of the two partners by comparing the pre-CCoFTA period (prior to 2011) with the post-CCoFTA period (from 2012 onward) with a focus on trade advances since the implementation and the effect of tariff reductions.