Thank you very much for that question.
What makes this agreement broader in scope than any other agreement we've signed is that it covers so many areas that were never even contemplated in NAFTA. For example, the issue we were just talking about, which is government procurement; this agreement actually extends government procurement obligations down to the provincial and municipal levels, including listed crown corporations. This is very significant. It benefits both sides because it's fully reciprocal. Canadian companies have access to the EU's government procurement market of $2.7 trillion a year.
Government procurement is an issue that was never addressed to that extent in NAFTA, for example. Issues such as intellectual property, issues such as environment and labour and sustainability, issues such as regulatory cooperation.... This is a source of great opportunity for us with the EU because many of the barriers that Canadian companies face in the EU are not necessarily tariffs, although many of those tariffs are high and 99% of them will be eliminated, but beyond that, it's all the rules and regulations and standards behind the border that really frustrate Canadians. By engaging in regular discussions with the EU on such things as regulatory cooperation, we're going to be able to improve the environment in which Canadians do business when they look to the EU.
This agreement really goes beyond many of the traditional areas of negotiation. Essentially what we've negotiated here is a 21st century outcome. NAFTA was a 20th century outcome. We believe this agreement will be the gold standard for the 21st century going forward.