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Summary of Initial GBA Plus for Canada-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement negotiations

Table of contents

Introduction

The Government of Canada is committed to the advancement of an inclusive approach to trade, which seeks to ensure that the benefits and opportunities resulting from Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are more widely shared, including among under-represented groups in the Canadian economy and trade, such as women, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and Indigenous Peoples. On December 13, 2023, the Government of Canada tabled in Parliament its notice of intent to enter into negotiations toward a possible Canada-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement (Canada-Ecuador FTA). The negotiations incorporate Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus), an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issues or opportunities being generated by an initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet the diverse needs of the people most impacted, and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation. In applying this to trade policy, GBA Plus examines the impact of policies and in this case possible negotiation outcomes, and tailors initiatives to diverse needs, especially for those most affected, by anticipating and addressing potential barriers to accessing or benefiting the government’s actions. GBA Plus guides reflection and action by providing insights into how various identity factors work together and intersect with systems and structures of power to shape people’s experiences and outcomes. The government has committed to conducting quantitative and qualitative chapter-by-chapter GBA Plus process to inform negotiations of the Canada-Ecuador FTAFootnote 1.

This document serves as a summary of the initial GBA Plus conducted on negotiations for a bilateral FTA with Ecuador. It will be published in order to seek stakeholder feedback on the differentiated effects of anticipated provisions on men and women in Canada, and on any other intersecting identity factors. In the meantime, the GBA Plus is contributing to a better understanding of the potential effects and opportunities of a potential FTA on all people in Canada – workers, producers, business owners, entrepreneurs, and, where possible, with SMEs and Indigenous Peoples as priority considerations.

This initial GBA Plus is complementary to, and advances, Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy and Feminist International Assistance Policy. It also helps further progress on Goal 6 of the government’s Gender Results Framework – gender equality around the world – in order to achieve a more peaceful, inclusive, rules-based, and prosperous world by pursuing a feminist international approach to all policies and programs, including trade.

Background

On March 19, 2024, Canada tabled negotiating objectives in part for a possible free trade agreement (FTA) with Ecuador. Prior to this, Canada held public consultations in January/February 2023 to seek the views of Canadians on a potential Canada-Ecuador FTA. Global Affairs Canada received a total of 38 written submissions from multiple stakeholders, including provinces and territories, civil society, and agricultural groups. The majority of submissions were positive; however, some stakeholders expressed concerns regarding specific issues. A report summarizing the findings of the public consultations was subsequently published online.

The Government of Canada is committed to negotiating an ambitious, modern, and comprehensive FTA that best reflects Canada’s inclusive approach to trade and the Canada-Ecuador bilateral trade relationship. The Government of Canada is committed to advancing an inclusive approach to trade through a potential agreement, in recognition that trade policies need to respond and contribute meaningfully to overall domestic economic, social, and environmental policy priorities.

Process

In January 2018, the Trade Policy and Negotiations Branch at Global Affairs Canada appointed a GBA Plus focal point and established a GBA Plus action plan, the implementation of which positioned the department to deliver on Canada’s inclusive approach to trade and other government priorities.

The initial GBA Plus for the Canada-Ecuador FTA negotiations was initiated using a custom-designed guidance questionnaireFootnote 2 and other supporting materials that guided lead negotiators for each chapter in their analysis. Public consultations on the potential new agreement were launched on January 6, 2023, followed by the Notice of Intent to conduct impact assessments, which were launched on April 27, 2024. The Gender and Trade Advisory Group expert advisory group was also consulted. Furthermore, the GBA Plus was updated and revised based on feedback received from gender equality experts and the Government of Canada’s GBA Plus focal point network across relevant departments. This summary is based on the fully reviewed initial GBA Plus.

Stakeholder consultations: What we heard

From January 7 to February 21, 2023, Global Affairs Canada held public consultations to receive the views of Canadians on a possible Canada-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Global Affairs Canada received 38 written submissions from across the country covering a broad range of sectors, including: provinces and territories; businesses, labour and human rights organizations, agricultural industry; civil society organizations; mining industry; manufacturing/food processing; individuals; and academics.

Overall, stakeholders expressed a high level of support for the potential Canada-Ecuador FTA, highlighting the benefits of increased trade with Ecuador and the potential opportunities in this market. Stakeholders generally view the negotiation of an FTA with Ecuador as an opportunity to strengthen the economic relationship. However, some stakeholders highlighted concerns such as the importance of protecting Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Ecuador; ensuring that inclusive trade provisions are in place to benefit women and 2SLGBTQI+ organizations; protecting workers’ rights; safeguarding environmental practices; and the use of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).

Data sources for Initial GBA Plus

The GBA Plus analysis for each chapter was informed by a variety of data and research sources, including the following data publications from Statistics Canada:

Other sources include:

Economic impact assessment

Canada’s prosperity and economic growth depend on open, rules-based trade, diversified supply chains, and secure market access. The negotiation of comprehensive FTAs that reflect Canada’s inclusive approach to trade supports the Government of Canada’s objective to secure preferential market access for Canadian businesses, large and small; diversify trade partners; position Canada as an attractive destination for foreign investment; and advance Canada’s interests abroad.

Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Ecuador has been steadily increasing in recent years, growing at an average annual rate of 8.4% and reaching nearly $1.4 billion in 2023, with significant growth, particularly in agricultural products. This outstanding growth outpaces Canada’s trade growth with all other major South American economies. Canada is the largest foreign investor in Ecuador, with Canadian direct investment in Ecuador totalling $4.4 billion in 2023, after growing by over 4 times since 2015.

While the trade growth is impressive, 40.5% of Canada’s exports to Ecuador and 88.5% of Canada’s imports from Ecuador are already duty-free, which could potentially limit the benefits of tariff reductions under an FTA. Nevertheless, a closer trading relationship with Ecuador could generate even more trading opportunities for both countries and contribute to Canada’s trade diversification goals.

Chapter-by-chapter GBA Plus

The initial GBA Plus also includes a chapter-by-chapter analysis of 27 issue areas (chapters or provisions) to be discussed during the Canada-Ecuador FTA negotiations. For the purpose of this report, the analysis is broken down into four groups of related chapters as outlined below:

Group 1: Goods

Chapters in the first group are related to goods and include National treatment and market access for goods, rules of origin, origin procedures, customs and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, good regulatory practices, and trade remedies. For more information on the purpose of each of these chapters, please see Annex F.

The purpose of goods-related chapters is to improve market access for Canadian exporters, producers, and consumers by eliminating trade restrictions and establishing clear and predictable rules for trade. The chapters aim to facilitate trade in goods and cover areas such as tariff and non-tariff barriers and trade facilitation measures. According to the initial Economic Impact Assessment, approximately 40.5% of Canada’s exports to Ecuador from 2020 to 2022 were already Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) duty-free, with the majority of remaining dutiable goods subject to tariffs below 10%. Ecuador uses the Andean Price Band System (APBS) for certain agricultural products with a view to stabilizing their import price, which impacts Canada’s exports of wheat to Ecuador, which represent 83.9% of Canada’s dutiable exports to Ecuador. Approximately 88.5% of Canada’s imports from Ecuador entered MFN duty-free from 2020 to 2022, while 11.5% faced tariffs of over 5%.Footnote 3

The GBA Plus also indicates that there are opportunities to seek a gender-responsive and inclusive trade provision in at least one chapter in this group. Both Canada and Ecuador are signatories of the UNECE Declaration on Gender Responsive Standards, indicating a common understanding for the need to address gender in standardization.

In summary, the chapters in Group 1 could result in positive effects for women, Indigenous Peoples, and other underrepresented groups in the Canadian economy – as workers, business owners, and producers as well as consumers.

Group 2: Services, investment, and government procurement

The second group of areas include Cross-Border Trade in Services (CBTS), Development and Administration of Measures (DAM), Temporary Movement of Business Persons (TMBP), Telecommunications, Digital Trade, Financial Services, Investment, State Owned Enterprises, Competition Policy, Intellectual Property (IP), and Government Procurement (GP).

Broadly, the purpose of these Group 2 areas is to help Canadian suppliers, services providers, and investors secure market access and to ensure that the regulatory systems of the Parties are predictable and transparent. These areas, particularly those relating to IP, CBTS and TMBP, also serve to advance the knowledge economy, which is dependent on services, particularly technical services, and other professional services. In addition, the GP chapter seeks to secure preferential access to a trading partner’s GP markets while retaining the necessary domestic policy space to achieve environmental and socio-economic objectives. For more information on the purpose of each of these areas, please see Annex F.

In general, these chapters are expected to have benefits for SMEs and business owners from under-represented groups as they enhance the predictability and security of existing and potential new access into Ecuador’s market. In addition, these chapters should provide for improved access to information for companies doing business across borders. This is especially valuable for SMEs, including those owned by women and other under-represented groups that may be limited in their ability to gather the information they need to grow their businesses internationally.

The findings of the initial GBA Plus conducted on this Group revealed opportunities to pursue gender-responsive and inclusive provisions, pending a willing partner to secure these negotiated outcomes. For example:

Group 3: Environment, labour, and inclusive trade

The third group of Chapters or provisions includes: Environment; labour; trade and gender; trade and Indigenous Peoples; and trade and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For more information on the purpose of each of these chapters, please see Annex F.

The chapters in this group are expected to integrate gender-responsive and inclusive provisions, which are designed to benefit under-represented groups in particular.

Canada’s model trade and gender, trade and small and medium-sized enterprises, and trade and Indigenous Peoples chapters are cooperation-based, and all have the objective of advancing gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and inclusivity. These chapters are consistent with and advance Canada’s inclusive approach to trade, which seeks to ensure that the benefits and opportunities from trade are more widely shared, including among traditionally under-represented groups in the economy and trade, such as women, SMEs and Indigenous Peoples, and others such as persons with disabilities, youth, and 2SLGBTQI+ persons.

Trade and gender Chapter: Canada has previously achieved Trade and Gender chapters with Chile, Israel and Ukraine as well as a Trade and Gender Recommendation with the European Union (EU) under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The Canada-Ecuador Trade and Gender chapter will aim to achieve many of the same objectives that were achieved in these chapters.

The GBA Plus conducted on this chapter identified many barriers that women encounter when seeking to share in the benefits and opportunities of trade, including: less access to financing; unequal responsibility for unpaid care work; limited access to networks, mentors and global-value chains; reduced awareness of opportunities provided by trade agreements and explicit, as well as implicit, discrimination. Canada’s trade and gender chapters have the goal of reducing and eliminating these barriers by providing women and women-owned businesses with greater access to the benefits and opportunities created by FTAs. The chapters aim to achieve this by:

Trade and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) chapter: Recent GBA Plus assessment findings highlight the opportunity to increase the proportion of women-owned and or operated SMEs, as well as other underrepresented groups such as Indigenous Peoples, participating in international trade. For example, in 2020, 10.4% of women-owned SMEs exported compared to 12.4% for men-owned and equally-owned SMEs. In addition to mainstreaming SME-related provisions throughout the agreement, in this chapter, Canada seeks to:

Cooperation activities and the responsibilities of the SME Committee will be beneficial to the success of the SME Chapter, particularly in assisting SMEs owned by under-represented groups such as women, Indigenous Peoples, racialized people, youth, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQI+ to take advantage of this FTA.

Trade and Indigenous Peoples chapter: Consistent with its inclusive approach to trade, Canada will seek a Trade and Indigenous Peoples chapter in a free trade agreement with Ecuador. Provisions on Trade and Indigenous Peoples do not seek to create any new rights for Indigenous Peoples but rather acknowledge and recognize the unique barriers and challenges that Indigenous Peoples face when seeking to participate in or benefit from international trade. The GBA Plus assessment of this chapter recognized that there are existing opportunities to mitigate potential barriers to Indigenous Peoples benefitting from the FTA, such as geographic location, socioeconomic status and gender diversity. Additionally, Indigenous workers who are employed in industries with more significant exports to Ecuador such as agriculture may benefit from the FTA. To ensure that the potential negative impacts on Indigenous Peoples are addressed and to encourage Indigenous People’s participation in trade, Canada seeks a Trade and Indigenous Peoples chapter which:

In summary, the chapters or provisions in Group 3 should result in improved participation in the economy and access to the benefits of trade for women, Indigenous Peoples, SMEs, and other underrepresented groups in the Canadian economy.

Group 4: Institutional and dispute settlement chapters

Chapters included in the fourth group are the Preamble, the four institutional chapters (Initial provisions and general definitions; institutional and administrative provisions; exceptions and general provisions; final provisions), transparency, anti-corruption, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and responsible business conduct (RBC), and the dispute settlement chapter. For more information on the purpose of each of these chapters, please see Annex F.

In summary, the chapters in Group 4 present opportunities to further enhance and strengthen their gender responsiveness and inclusivity. Therefore, Canada will seek provisions to that end and work with Ecuador to articulate the value of these provisions and pursue their inclusion in the FTA.

Domestic laws, policies, programs

Canada recognizes that domestic laws and trade policies need to be coherent and complementary. Canada has many domestic laws, policies, and programs already in place to support gender equality and economic empowerment for traditionally under-represented groups. These laws, policies and programs will serve to mitigate any potential negative effects of FTAs, including a potential Canada-Ecuador FTA. Similarly, positive opportunities granted by FTAs can be leveraged by these existing programs and policies. More information on Canada’s domestic gender equality laws can be found at the following link: Federal gender equality laws in Canada.

Women’s economic empowerment programming in Canada

Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service (TCS), part of Global Affairs Canada, organizes and executes women-focused business delegations and trade missions to new markets and prominent global trade shows and events, including those focused on providing opportunities for women-owned businesses through supplier diversity programs.

The Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) is a more than $6 billion investment aimed at increasing women-owned businesses’ access to the financing, talent, networks and expertise they need to start up, scale up, and reach new markets. Under the WES, and through its over 20-year-old Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) initiative, the TCS received an additional $2 million per year to enhance export support services to women entrepreneurs. This funding helped establish a cadre of officers at TCS regional offices whose role is to support women-owned and women-led businesses.

The TCS network of offices in over 160 locations around the world, and six Regional Offices across Canada, helps Canadian companies including under-represented groups (women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, youth, and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community) navigate the complexities of international markets, and make better business decisions for their international expansion.

The TCS’ CanExport program provides financial support to Canadian SMEs, innovators, associations and communities to help them diversify exports and expand their international footprint. In line with Canada’s Export Diversification Strategy, the CanExport program seeks not only to diversify where Canada exports, but also to achieve trade that is more inclusive for all Canadians. To this end, CanExport’s new dedicated Concierge Service for women and Indigenous entrepreneurs encourages applicants from under-represented groups in international trade to access its funding. The TCS Regional Offices deliver the Concierge Service by providing application guidance in an effort to make the CanExport program more accessible. CanExport also provides special considerations during the assessment of proposals to applicants from under-represented groups in international trade (women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, 2SLGBTQI+ and youth).

Canadian companies that work with the TCS earn 19.8% more in value, export to 24.8% more markets, and export 11.2% more product varieties than companies that don’t work with the TCS.

The TCS is committed to offering business opportunities to under-represented exporters, including women entrepreneurs, through funding and support programs that support their growth in global markets, and including through Canada’s suite of 15 ratified FTAs with 49 countries. FTAs ratified by Canada connect Canadian businesses to 1.5 billion customers worldwide and provide them with preferred access to diverse markets all over the world.

Conclusion

The Government of Canada has made the achievement of gender equality and supporting the empowerment of women and girls a priority for domestic and international policies, including trade policies. Furthermore, the Government of Canada is committed to the advancement of an inclusive approach to trade, which seeks to ensure that the benefits and opportunities resulting from FTAs are more widely shared, including among SMEs and under-represented groups in Canada’s economy and trade, such as women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, 2SLGBTQI+, and youth. Conducting a GBA Plus of all policies and programs is an important tool to help deliver on these goals. It is important to recognize, however, that all FTAs are a negotiated outcome and Canada may not achieve all of its goals in the negotiation of an FTA with Ecuador, including goals that benefit women and diverse populations in Canada.

The initial GBA Plus demonstrates that while not all chapters of a Canada-Ecuador FTA may have direct impacts on improving inclusive outcomes, there are clear opportunities in other areas of the Agreement to increase gender-related benefits. For example, the sought outcomes in the environment and labour chapters and the addition of chapters and obligations on trade and gender, SMEs and trade and Indigenous Peoples could improve the level of participation in trade and employment conditions for women, Indigenous Peoples, and other traditionally under-represented groups. To achieve these results, it will be important for the cooperation activities geared to advancing gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and inclusivity to be implemented effectively with demonstrated value-added and positive results over time.

There are limitations to applying GBA Plus to FTA negotiations that are important to recognize as well. For example, trade policy may not have the solution for all GBA Plus findings. In some cases, gaps and barriers identified by the GBA Plus are related to domestic policies and regulations that need to be addressed through other government mechanisms.

Applying the GBA Plus process to the negotiation of an FTA offers the opportunity to reflect on past practices and identify where a more inclusive lens can be applied to specific measures and provisions. The GBA Plus exercise offers a tool to ensure a more gender-responsive and inclusive agreement is reached.

Next Steps

Following publication of the Summary of the Initial GBA Plus for negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Ecuador, Global Affairs Canada will undertake these next steps:

  1. Post the Summary of the Initial GBA Plus for stakeholder consultations via a notice on the Canada Gazette. Stakeholders can provide comments on questions below or any other issue. Stakeholders are invited to submit their comments online via email to consultations@international.gc.ca.
  2. Publish a what we heard report in the stakeholder consultations on this Summary of Initial GBA Plus for the Canada-Ecuador FTA negotiations.
  3. Inform trade negotiators of comments received and integrate comments into the GBA Plus to inform ongoing trade negotiations.
  4. Officials will continue to update and renew the GBA Plus of each chapter as negotiations proceed and as new data and evidence come to light.

Once the FTA negotiations are concluded and a Canada-Ecuador FTA is signed, Global Affairs Canada will conduct the final GBA Plus on the agreement and publish a summary online to inform how any risks or opportunities will be addressed in domestic policy responses or activities implemented by committees established under the trade agreement.

Questions for stakeholders

  1. Based on the summary of the initial GBA Plus, what gaps do you see in the analysis and what risks does this pose?
  2. What other provisions could be included in a free trade agreement with Ecuador in order to advance gender and diversity-related issues?
  3. From your point of view, what are the effects and opportunities for under-represented groups in Canada of the proposed agreement?
  4. Are there unintended negative effects of trade due to a free trade agreement with Ecuador on women or other vulnerable groups that you would like to highlight? In your view, what can be done to promote further positive effects and what could be done to help mitigate negative effects?

Annex A – Background on GBA Plus

GBA Plus is an analytical process used by the Government of Canada to support the development of responsive and inclusive initiatives. It provides a systematic process for understanding who is impacted by the issues we seek to address and serves to inform government actions, so they better address diverse needs and help to eliminate barriers that limit the benefits derived from initiatives. GBA Plus is based on the idea that greater equality is a goal to achieve across government decision-making and actions. It involves considering factors related to biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) in addition to other factors related to age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. It leads to a better understanding of how identity factors intersect with one another as well as with various systems of inequality and discrimination.

GBA Plus helps challenge assumptions and puts the lived experiences of diverse people at the forefront of decision-making. It does this by prompting reflection on potential differential impacts or barriers and by informing the design and implementation of initiatives so that they tackle inequalities.  GBA Plus is about putting people at the heart of decision-making and ensuring that government actions do not exacerbate or perpetuate inequalities.

To learn more about GBA Plus, Women and Gender Equality Canada provides a free online course and several short videos.

GBA Plus in Trade Agreements

When GBA Plus is applied to trade agreements, it provides evidence and insights that can help inform negotiators and policymakers of the best ways to address gender and inclusivity considerations. This can help in the identification of potential risks and opportunities created through the application of an FTA. The end goal is to mitigate potentially negative impacts, enhance positive opportunities, and ensure that all Canadians benefit from trade.  Essentially, GBA Plus helps develop more gender- and inclusivity-responsive trade policies and related measures.  GBA Plus is changing the way we do trade policy in Canada.

A critical factor in conducting a quality GBA Plus is collecting and assessing disaggregated data. This data provides the evidence base for understanding the effects of policies, including trade policies, on population groups. For Canada, data comes from Statistics Canada’s Census, Labour Force Survey and other surveys such as Women in Canada, as well as through stakeholder consultations. Global Affairs Canada’s Office of the Chief Economist uses this data for economic models that help highlight the effects of FTAs on gender and other sub-groups in the population.

GBA Plus increases attention to the diversity and multiplicity of identity and social factors that intersect and contribute to shaping how diverse groups of Canadians are impacted by government initiatives, including trade agreements. GBA Plus puts people at the heart of policy development and helps deliver innovation as it encourages officials to think outside of the box. GBA Plus will help ensure that Canada’s FTAs are more gender-responsive and inclusive so all members of Canadian society can reap the benefits of free trade and continued economic growth.

GBA Plus will also help Canada deliver on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 5 on gender equality.

Annex B – Background on Canada’s inclusive approach to trade

As part of the Government of Canada’s trade diversification strategy, we are pursuing an inclusive approach to trade that seeks to ensure that more Canadians have access to the benefits and opportunities that flow from international trade and investment. This includes those Canadians who have traditionally been under-represented in international trade and investment, such as women, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Indigenous Peoples. This means seeking trade policies that are sustainable, transparent, and inclusive.

Why is an inclusive approach to trade important?

The Government of Canada has engaged with a diverse range of Canadians to hear their views on trade.

Although, overall, Canadians support trade, many have also expressed concerns. Some of these include:

Responding to global concerns, as well as to input received from Canadians through our consultations, we continue to work on making trade accessible and beneficial to more Canadians. Our approach reflects and promotes domestic and international policy priorities that support economic growth that benefits everyone and maintains confidence in an open, rules-based trading system.

How we’re making sure our trade and investment agreements benefit everyone

The government’s efforts to date can be divided into three areas:

1) Putting more Canadians at the heart of our trade policy-making agenda

To better align Canadian trade policy priorities with the interests of all Canadians, we are:

2) Expanding access to the benefits of trade for more Canadians through inclusive trade content in trade agreements

To date, we have:

3) Working with our international partners:

Annex C – List of other government departments, agencies, or crown corporations that lead, co-lead or provide support to Global Affairs Canada on FTA negotiations with Ecuador

With the support of:

Annex D – Questions to guide GBA Plus of trade negotiations

Below is a list of questions designed to aid trade negotiators in conducting GBA Plus to assess the effects and opportunities on people in Canada of the Canada-Ecuador FTA trade negotiations throughout the negotiating process.  

A key first step in the analysis is considering what assumptions might influence the analysis. For example, assumptions around a trade chapter being gender blind or gender neutral; that all are affected in the same way by the chapter’s provisions; and that various individuals and groups of women, men, and gender-diverse people have equal access to its benefits. A key first step in GBA Plus is being open-minded and recognizing assumptions that may impede effective analysis as it is generally viewed that no policy or program is absolutely neutral in terms of gender and diversity impacts. 

Questions:

  1. What is the purpose of the Chapter? What are its intended effects?
  2. Is there any evidence of explicit or implicit discrimination against particular groups of people in the chapter?
  3. Are there any gaps in data in identifying differences and inequalities?
  4. Does the Chapter include any provisions that could impact on gender or inclusivity in a positive/intended or negative/unintended way?
  5. What are the top industries/sectors/goods/services that are potentially affected by the Chapter?
  6. What is the level of gender or diversity participation in those sectors across Canada in terms of jobs, business ownership, and consumption? (Provide any data or evidence to support your analysis)
  7. What are the potential risks in terms of gender or inclusivity effects? How could you mitigate them in a trade policy provision in the chapter?
  8. What are the potential opportunities or positive effects of the Chapter in terms of gender or inclusivity effects? How could you realize this opportunity through enhanced provisions in the chapter?
  9. How are you factoring considerations around gender and inclusivity into provisions in the chapter? Consider both direct impacts (e.g., primary industries or regions affected) and indirect impacts (e.g., secondary industries or regions affected).
  10. Does the Chapter include/are you planning to include any specific gender or inclusivity provisions? If so, what are they? If not, could you consider developing a new innovative inclusive or gender-responsive provision to address an issue or a risk that you foresee?
  11. What are the policy options/recommendations that you can develop to advance gender equality and inclusivity outcomes in the Chapter and the FTA? Would you recommend domestic actions such as the development or redesign of a policy or program potentially led by another government department?  What are the data gaps that you encountered?

Systems at Global Affairs Canada to support trade negotiators in conducting GBA Plus of FTAs:

The Trade Negotiations Branch at Global Affairs Canada has developed systems to support trade negotiators in conducting GBA Plus of trade agreement chapters.  These include:

Annex E – Background on FTA partner market for Canadian goods, services, and investment

Strengthening trade and investment with important markets is key to ensuring sustainable economic prosperity for Canadian businesses, workers, and families. By pursuing free trade negotiations with Ecuador, the Government of Canada will expand and strengthen ties with one of the fastest-growing trade nations in South America.

Canada and Ecuador have enjoyed great bilateral relations, including strong two-way trade in a variety of sectors, particularly in agricultural products, reaching nearly $1.4 billion in 2023. This outstanding growth outpaces Canada’s trade growth with all other major South American economies. Canada is the largest foreign investor in Ecuador, with Canadian direct investment in Ecuador totalling $4.4 billion in 2023, after growing by over 4 times since 2015.

Despite the impressive trade growth, 40.5% of Canada’s exports to Ecuador and 88.5% of Canada’s imports from Ecuador are already duty-free, which could potentially limit the benefits of tariff reductions under an FTA. In spite of this, developing a closer trading relationship with Ecuador could generate additional trading opportunities for both countries, contributing to Canada’s trade diversification goals.

Annex F – Background on FTA Chapters

Free trade agreements (FTAs) are binding treaties between countries that open markets to businesses by addressing trade barriers, such as tariffs and non-tariff barriers. These agreements:

The term “FTA” may seem to imply complete free trade between countries involved in the agreement; however, FTAs do not automatically eliminate all tariffs (customs duties imposed on imported goods) and other barriers to trade. For example, some products may be free of tariffs and quotas, but others may not be. Tariffs may also be eliminated over a period of time. Beyond tariffs, FTAs seek to prevent and address non-tariff barriers, such as those arising from health, safety, and environmental regulations, while preserving the right to regulate in the public interest.

Many of Canada’s FTAs also go beyond trade in goods to cover services. The services sector accounts for 75% of Canadian jobs and 78% of the country’s GDP. In addition, over 18% of Canada’s total trade is in services, including:

List of FTA Chapters

National treatment and market access for goods – A National Treatment and Market Access for goods (NTMA) chapter establishes clear and predictable rules on a range of issues affecting trade in goods, such as elimination of customs duties and import and export restrictions, among others. The chapter also enshrines the foundational World Trade Organization principle of “national treatment,” which ensures that a country treats imported goods no less favourably than it treats domestically produced goods. Tariff schedules, which are often appendices to the NTMA chapter, set out each country’s obligations to eliminate customs duties (i.e., tariffs) within specified time frames. Canada’s FTAs typically involve the elimination of all customs duties, except on a limited number of highly sensitive products.

Trade remedies – The purpose of the Trade remedies related provisions is to reaffirm WTO rights and obligations for anti-dumping, countervailing and global safeguard measures under the relevant WTO Agreements.

Rules of origin – The rules of origin provisions set out the general requirements under which a good may be considered originating in the territory of the Parties to the Agreement and therefore eligible for preferential tariff treatment. These provisions are intended to benefit Canadian importers, exporters, producers, and consumers by establishing a predictable rules-based environment for trade in goods. The economic impact of these provisions is dependent on the extent to which market access increases as a result of tariff reduction.

Origin procedures – The origin procedures provisions establish the procedures used to administer the rules of origin and set out obligations for importers, exporters, and the customs authorities. The procedures clarify the processes and obligations required for importers and exporters to take advantage of the reduced or free rates of duty and provide the customs authorities with an applicable methodology to ensure that only qualifying goods receive preferential tariff treatment under the FTA. Furthermore, one of Canada’s main objectives is to ensure that the rules of origin are administered in a fair and transparent manner by the customs administrations and provide the trade community with a facilitative means in which to take advantage of the preferential tariff treatment afforded under the FTA.

Customs and trade facilitation – The customs and trade facilitation chapter seeks to facilitate the movement of Canadian exports into FTA partner markets by establishing obligations that seek to modernize, simplify, and standardize trade-related customs procedures, while safeguarding and providing certainty around Canada’s ability to administer or introduce new measures that ensure or enhance trader compliance with Canada’s trade-related laws, regulations, or procedural requirements. Such measures include those that seek to ensure the safety and security of Canada and its citizens through the proper reporting and accounting declaration of goods and payment of duties, taxes, fees, and charges by traders.

Sanitary and phytosanitary measures – The sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures provisions maintain each party’s right to take measures necessary to protect against risks to food safety, human, animal or plant life or health, while ensuring that such measures are science-based, transparent and do not create unnecessary and unjustifiable SPS trade restrictions.

Technical barriers to trade – The technical barriers to trade (TBT) chapter preserves each party’s right to regulate in the public interest to achieve legitimate public policy objectives while ensuring that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The chapter builds on the existing WTO TBT Agreement’s provisions, notably in the areas of transparency, conformity assessment, and joint cooperation.   

Good regulatory practices – This chapter promotes enhanced transparency and good regulatory practices, to improve governance and predictability while taking into account the legitimate policy objectives of each country. The Chapter includes commitments on mechanisms to facilitate inter-agency coordination; obligations involving the implementation of good regulatory practices and obligations concerning cooperation with other parties and interested persons of other parties.

Investment – The Investment provisions protect investors from discriminatory or arbitrary treatment in their host country.

Cross-border trade in services – The cross-border trade in services provisions set out the rules regarding the treatment of service suppliers in partner countries.

Development and administration of measures – Builds on the recently concluded WTO joint statement initiative on services domestic regulation and sets out disciplines on measures related to authorization to supply a service.

Financial services – The financial services (FS) chapter provides protections for investments in financial institutions, establishes a framework for regulatory transparency and includes a dispute settlement framework tailored to the financial sector. The scope of the FS chapter only applies to measures relating to financial institutions; investors and investments in financial institutions; and cross-border trade in financial services.

Temporary movement of business persons – The Temporary Movement of Business Persons (TMBP) chapter covers labour mobility-focused provisions that support the temporary movement of business persons and highly skilled professionals between partner countries. These provisions promote greater transparency and predictability of entry requirements and application procedures and remove certain potential barriers, such as labour market testing.

Telecommunications – The Telecommunications provisions enhance regulatory certainty for telecommunications service suppliers.

Digital trade – These provisions help facilitate the use of e-commerce by consumers and businesses, in recognition of the growing digitalization of trade and its impact on the economy.

Intellectual property – The intellectual property (IP) provisions include standards for the protection and enforcement of IP rights to which each Party’s national laws must conform.

Government procurement – The government procurement provisions help to ensure that suppliers of goods, services and construction services are treated in an open, transparent, and non-discriminatory manner when competing for government procurement opportunities in partner markets.

Competition Policy – The purpose of the competition policy chapter is to promote open and competitive markets and help ensure that the benefits of trade liberalization are not offset by anti-competitive business conduct. The proposed competition policy provisions require that the parties adopt or maintain measures to proscribe anti-competitive business conduct and include specific commitments for transparency and procedural fairness.

State-owned enterprises – These provisions seek to ensure that private firms can fairly compete with enterprises owned or controlled by a government. Such provisions ensure that state-owned enterprises act in accordance with commercial considerations, except when performing a public mandate.

Labour – The labour provisions commit parties to effectively enforce their domestic labour laws which should in turn embody and provide protection for internationally recognized labour rights and principles, including those set out in the International labour organization’s fundamental conventions.

Environment – The environment provisions ensure that parties effectively enforce their environmental laws and do not lower environmental standards to promote trade or attract investment. It also includes commitments that support efforts to address global environmental challenges, such as climate change, conservation of biological diversity, illegal wildlife trade and fishing, invasive alien species, and promoting trade in environmental goods and services.

Trade and small and medium-sized enterprises – Small and medium-sized enterprises provisions support the growth and development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by enhancing their ability to participate in and benefit from the opportunities created by an FTA, through identifying and removing barriers to participation, and facilitating cooperation activities and information sharing.

Trade and gender – The main objective of the Trade and Gender chapter is to advance women’s economic empowerment and gender equality by removing barriers to participation in trade. It also facilitates cooperation activities and information sharing.

Trade and Indigenous Peoples – The Trade and Indigenous Peoples provisions seek to remove barriers to participation in trade and enhance the ability of Indigenous Peoples and businesses to benefit from the opportunities created by an FTA. The chapter also facilitates cooperation activities and information sharing.

Dispute settlement – The dispute settlement provides for fair, transparent, efficient and effective means of resolving disputes relating to the agreement that arise between the Parties, including consultations and compulsory and binding dispute settlement.

Institutional Chapters

  1. Preamble – The preamble is not a chapter, but an introduction to the purpose of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The preamble reflects the intentions of the parties and the scope of the FTA and has interpretive value should a dispute arise.
  2. Initial Provisions and General Definitions – The first part of the Initial Provisions and General Definitions chapter explains how the FTA respects WTO commitments and how it links with existing agreements.  The second part includes definitions of terms used in more than one chapter.
  3. Transparency and Anti Corruption – Facilitates a transparent and predictable environment for trade and investment by promoting transparency and anti-corruption.
  4. Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) – includes dedicated provisions to encourage parties to encourage enterprises to uptake and implement RBC in their business practices informed by and complementary to existing global RBC standards.
  5. Administrative and Institutional Provisions – This chapter establishes the structure of the bodies that will be charged with the governance and the implementation of the FTA.
  6. Exceptions and General Provisions – The Exceptions and General Provisions chapter includes exceptions of which some may be applicable to the entire agreement while others only apply to certain chapters. Exceptions are designed to ensure Parties maintain the right to take action in the public interest.
  7. Final Provisions – This chapter provides the legal language needed to bring the FTA into force. It also includes provisions for amendments to the text and process for termination, should one of the Parties wish to withdraw from the agreement.  

Annex G – Background on the trade and gender Nexus

Trade liberalization has been a significant stimulus to economic growth and prosperity around the world, including in Canada. However, trade affects people differently, based on a wide range of factors, including gender. In this context, the link between trade and gender is an important issue for trade policy-makers to consider as they negotiate free trade agreements (FTAs).

Incorporating gender perspectives into macroeconomic policy, including trade policy, is key to pursuing inclusive and sustainable economic development and to achieving outcomes that are fairer and more beneficial for all. Studies have shown that women-owned businesses contribute $150 billion to the Canadian economy and employ over 1.5 million peopleFootnote 4. Advancing women’s equality in Canada could add $150 billion to the GDP by 2026Footnote 5. To ensure that the benefits of free trade can be maximized and widely shared, it is important, therefore, for Canada to consider gender-related issues when developing trade policy and negotiating FTAs.

Canada’s approach to trade and gender is also consistent with the Government of Canada’s broader commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s economic empowerment and complements its efforts to advance gender equality both at home and abroad.

Trade and gender and the impact on workers

Trade can impact women and men differently, whether as workers or entrepreneurs or, more generally, as members of society.

For example, in Canada, women are overrepresented in lower-growth and lower-wage industries, such as retail trade, and in non-tradeable services, such as accommodation and food services. In comparison, men dominate highly traded sectors, such as manufacturing and resource extraction.

Women, in contrast, account for a larger share of the workforce in service and knowledge-based sectors, such as financial services, e-commerce and telecommunications, which are expanding and in which Canada has a comparative advantage.

Therefore, trade policies can have different effects on women and men as workers, depending on the sector in which they are employed and whether that sector is likely to expand or contract as a result of an FTA. Because of this, trade policies need to take gender-related factors into account during FTA assessments and negotiations to understand the risks and opportunities on particular demographics in the economy.

Trade and gender and the impact on business owners

In terms of representation in international trade, Canadian women are under-represented: in 2019, woman-owned SMEs represented less than one in six businesses (16%) and represented only 11% of exporting SMEs. While women entrepreneurs are typically more educated than their male counterparts, businesses owned by women tend to be smaller than businesses owned by men and operate in sectors with low export intensity. Although the difference varies by industry, according to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), women-owned SMEs participate less in export-intensive industries even though they have more management experience than men-owned SMEs.

Research has identified the following likely primary factors explaining female under-participation in exporting:

Increasing the number of women-owned business exporters is important for a variety of reasons. Evidence shows that SMEs that export, compared to those that don’t, have the following important characteristics:

Therefore, increasing the number of women-owned SMEs that export has important socio-economic benefits for both society in general and the businesses themselves.

Trade and gender and the impact beyond workers and businesses

In addition to having effects on women as workers and as business owners, free trade can impact women in other ways, as members of society.

For instance, trade can impact women and men differently as consumers, particularly with regard to changes in the prices of imported goods. As women typically earn less than men, the reduction in the prices of goods could have, in relative terms, a more positive impact on their lives than on the lives of men in equivalent circumstances, by freeing up a higher percentage of their disposable incomes.

Given that FTAs reduce tariffs on imported products, government revenues may be negatively impacted, which could lead to reductions in government-funded services and programs. This is particularly the case in emerging markets, where the share of government revenue that comes from tariffs can be larger than in more open economies and could affect women more than men because, evidence suggests, women benefit more from these services.

At the same time, however, FTAs also increase economic prosperity and GDP through business development and expansion, job creation and increased exports. Therefore, what governments lose in revenue as the result of FTA tariff reductions may be counterbalanced by increases in tax revenue. 

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