Italy hopes to benefit from CETA, the free trade agreement between Canada and the EU. The agreement aims to promote international trade while safeguarding Europe's high quality standards, complying with product origin regulations and protecting trademarks. The deal took seven years of discussion to finalise.

Italy feels CETA would contribute to bolstering Italy’s current economic growth, which is still weak. The Italian sectors which are expected to benefit the most include fashion, footwear, food, furniture and industrial machinery.

The Canada-European Union CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) will create jobs, strengthen economic relations and boost Canada's trade with the world’s second largest market. It can increase Canadian-EU trade by 20 per cent.

CETA is a progressive free trade agreement which covers virtually all sectors and aspects of Canada-EU trade in order to eliminate or reduce barriers. At one time, only 25 per cent of EU tariff lines on Canadian goods were duty-free. With CETA, the EU will remove tariffs on 98 per cent of its tariff lines. Once CETA is fully implemented, the EU will have eliminated tariffs on 99 per cent of its tariff lines. But the full agreement is years off with regional and national parliaments needed to green light the agreement.