CETA is a modern free trade agreement between industrialised countries and provides for far-reaching market liberalisation taking into account sustainability, workers’ rights and the maintenance of public services. Companies and employees in the export business will benefit directly from CETA, and these benefits will feed through into other areas.

In 2016, Canada ranked 25th amongst destinations for German exports (exports of €9.4 billion and imports of €4.0 billion), and is thus a mid-sized trading partner, alongside countries like Thailand and Portugal. According to estimates by the Bundesbank, the stock of German direct investment in Canada amounted to €14.8 billion in 2015; the stock of Canadian investment in Germany stood at around a billion euros.