Canada has taken an important step in its commercial diversification strategy by signing a bilateral free trade agreement with Indonesia, the first with a member country of the Southeast Asian Nations Association (ASEAN).
This agreement with Canada arrives a few days after the firm in Bali of another free trade agreement between Indonesia and the European Union (EU), concluded at the end of ten years of negotiations that have accelerated after the increase in US customs tasks.
According to several experts interviewed by AFP, the Canada/Indonesia agreement represents a “strategic” agreement in a context of global economic turbulence, exacerbated by the protectionist policies of the United States.
“Objective of choice”
This also allows Canada to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the strategy presented in 2022 under the Trudeau government. Presented as “historical” by the Indonesian President, Pabowo Subaianto, in an official visit to Ottawa on Wednesday, the Global Economic Association Agreement (CEPA) aims to eliminate or reduce customs tasks in more than 95% of Canadian exports. This refers in particular to the wheat, potassa, wood and soy sectors.
CEPA also provides the elimination of more than 90.5% of indonesian import prices, especially promoting exports of leather clothing and products to the North American market. Until now, bilateral trade between the two countries remains modest, reaching 5.5 billion Canadian dollars in 2024, behind Vietnam and Thailand.
For Gineviève Dufour, professor at the University of Ottawa, if this agreement is interesting, the economic diversification that Canada is looking for to break its dependence in the United States should go through “the agreements on which we can count, rather than for its multiplication.”
At the same time, a defense cooperation agreement has been signed, aimed at strengthening collaboration in military training, maritime security, cyberfense and peace maintenance fields.
Source: BFM TV
