Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the trade agreement between Canada and the European Union. Its government procurement rules sit in Chapter 19, which sets procedural rules and market-access commitments for covered government purchases by Canada and the EU.

CETA addresses covered entities, goods, services, construction services, monetary thresholds, procurement procedures and market-access schedules. Covered procurements must follow principles of openness, transparency, competition, non-discrimination and national treatment, as set out in CanadaBuys guidance on trade agreement general principles.

What Chapter 19 contains

Chapter 19 combines procedural rules with eight annexes that form Canada's market-access schedule. The procedural rules cover tender-notice posting periods, notice content, tender documentation, limited tendering and the publication of contract-award information. The Treasury Board Secretariat describes these obligations in Policy Notice 2017-4.

CanadaBuys also states that covered procurements must be designed to ensure open, transparent and competitive tendering, and that offsets are prohibited.

Which Canadian entities CETA can cover

Canada's CETA commitments include central, sub-central and, in some cases, municipal entities and Crown corporations. Global Affairs Canada identifies federal, sub-federal and other government entities as the categories that international trade agreements may cover, and CETA includes municipalities among the relevant sub-federal entities. See the Government of Canada page on government procurement trade policy.

Coverage is not automatic. CETA applies only to covered entities, covered acquisitions and procurements that meet the applicable monetary thresholds, and exclusions can remove a purchase from coverage. Canada publishes CETA market-access schedules and threshold information for goods, services and construction.

Tender notices and procedures under CETA

Chapter 19 requires covered entities listed in Annex 19-1 to publish tender notices on the Government Electronic Tendering Service. CanadaBuys identifies CETA Article 19.6, "Notices," as the source of notification requirements for CETA-covered procurements, and covered competitive procurements generally must be advertised through the designated tendering service unless an exception applies. The details are in CanadaBuys guidance on tender notices and trade agreements.

A procurement is generally covered only when the entity and the goods or services are covered, the estimated value meets the threshold and no exclusion applies. Buyers test these conditions when they plan a procurement, as described in the CanadaBuys trade agreement applicability guide.

How CETA connects to other agreements

CETA sits alongside other Canadian procurement agreements, including the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement incorporates CETA's government procurement obligations by reference. That includes CETA's procedural rules, market access, covered entities, commodities and thresholds, as confirmed in Contracting Policy Notice 2021-1.

What CETA means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

• Follow the solicitation's instructions and the applicable tendering procedures. CETA does not replace them.
• Check the tender notice for the trade agreements that apply. A CETA-covered notice signals that the entity, commodity and value fall within Canada's commitments.
• Expect non-discrimination and national treatment. Covered entities cannot discriminate against eligible suppliers, or goods and services, from the other party.
• Look at the market both ways. CETA is intended to give Canadian suppliers access to covered EU procurement markets, and EU suppliers access to covered Canadian ones, subject to schedules, thresholds and exclusions.