The NWPTA requires that government and public entities remove impediments across all economic sectors. The Agreement is comprehensive, applying to all government measures (e.g., legislation, regulations, standards, policies, procedures, guidelines, procurements, etc.) affecting trade, investment and labour mobility.
Specifically, the NWPTA obligates public entities to ensure:
- No obstacles: government standards and regulations cannot restrict or impair trade, investment or labour mobility between or among the four provinces.
- Non-discrimination: there will be no preferential treatment of a province's people, investments and goods or services, except for justified actual cost-of-service differences.
Special provisions have been established for certain economic sectors covering investment, business subsidies, labour mobility, procurement, energy, and transportation. These special provisions augment and further elaborate upon the general rules. Although the NWPTA has special provisions that define particular obligations in certain sectors, the breadth of its scope covers trade, investment and labour mobility in all economic sectors.
