Between 2000 and 2007, EU27 exports of goods to Canada grew from 21.1 billion euro to 25.9 bn, while EU27 imports from Canada rose from 19.0 bn to 23.3 bn. As a result the EU27 surplus in trade with Canada increased slightly from 2.1 bn in 2000 to 2.6 bn in 2007. The share of Canada in the EU27's total external trade in goods has fallen between 2000 and 2007. In 2007, Canada accounted for 2.1% of EU27 exports and 1.6% of EU27 imports, and was the EU27's eleventh most important trading partner.

On the occasion of the European Union - Canada summit, which will take place on Friday 17 October 2008 in Montreal, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, issues data on trade and investments between the EU and Canada.

Germany has largest surplus and United Kingdom largest deficit

More than three quarters of EU27 exports to Canada, and more than 60% of imports, in 2007 were manufactured goods. At the detailed level, the main EU27 exports to Canada were medicine, motor cars, crude and refined oil and aircraft engines, while the main imports were uranium, nickel, diamonds, coal and aircraft.

Among the EU27 Member States, Germany (6.3 bn euro or 24% of the total) was the largest exporter to Canada in 2007, followed by the United Kingdom (4.8 bn or 19%), Italy (2.8 bn or 11%) and France (2.6 bn or 10%). The United Kingdom (8.2 bn or 35%) was by far the largest importer, followed by the Netherlands1 (2.7 bn or 12%) and Germany (2.6 bn or 11%). The largest surpluses were observed in Germany (+3.7 bn) and Italy (+1.1 bn), while the largest deficit was registered in the United Kingdom (-3.4 bn).

In 2007, the EU27 exported 11.2 bn euro of services to Canada, while imports of services from Canada amounted to 9.5 bn, meaning that the EU27 had a surplus of 1.8 bn in trade in services with Canada, compared with a surplus of 1.3 bn in 2005 and 2.0 bn in 2006. The surplus in 2007 was mainly due to transportation (+1.1 bn) and financial services (+0.7 bn). Canada accounted for 2.2% of total extra-EU27 trade in services.

Strong growth of EU27 FDI in Canada

EU27 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Canada grew strongly, from 12.0 bn euro in 2005 to 30.1 bn in 2006 and 58.3 bn in 2007, while Canadian direct investment into the EU27 increased from 7.8 bn in 2005 to 9.0 bn in 2006 and 2007. The main EU27 investors in Canada in 2007 were the United Kingdom (31.4 bn), the Netherlands (10.3 bn), Sweden (6.4 bn) and France (2.5 bn).