Good question.
It's always difficult for small and medium‑sized enterprises to know which free trade agreements are in force and to navigate their way through them. There are 15 agreements, which are all slightly different. There are also rules established by the WTO, which differ slightly in 51 markets around the world. Most SMEs are fairly familiar with the agreements that they use often. However, identifying opportunities within other agreements is challenging for them.
When unexpected changes occur, it takes them a while to adapt. Yet there's a cost associated with not knowing how a change will affect their commercial interests in the market.
Our department is working hard to provide our SMEs with the information that they need to make decisions and to use the agreements available to them.