Canada has signed a free trade deal with four European countries after nine years of talks, International Trade Minister David Emerson announced Thursday.

The agreement with the European Free Trade Association, comprised of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, is Canada's first such deal in six years and the first ever with European nations.

"It's a very important signal to the world out there that Canada is back in the game... It's time to build Canada's future by harnessing the powerful and positive potential inherent in international trade and commerce," Emerson told reporters at a business luncheon in Gatineau, Quebec.

The four small nations currently conduct about 11 billion Canadian dollars (10 billion U.S. dollars) in two-way trade with Canada, the same level Canada conducts with South Korea.

Canada's major trade partner is the United States, with which it conducted 82 percent of total international trade in 2006.

The new deal provides a phase-out of Canada's tariff over a 15-year period, which is designed to provide the industry a period of time to adjust to the new market conditions, Emerson said.

Canada last signed a free trade deal in 2001, with Costa Rica. It is in the final stage of free trade negotiations with South Korea and launching talks with Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean community, Emerson said.