Some changes still to come
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)—a free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union—has been passed.
Prime Minister Trudeau signed the 1,600-page document and the accompanying strategic partnership agreement on Sun, Oct. 30 in Brussels with President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
The trade agreement, that took seven years of work, was almost dropped due to a small Belgian regional parliament in Wallonia. So far, the deal has only been approved by the Canadian and European parliaments. This includes the United Kingdom as their departure from the European Union has not yet been fully implemented.
Prime Minister Trudeau acknowledged that it will take more than the signing ceremony to help make sure the deal goes through.
“The work is only just beginning right now,” Trudeau said during a press announcement concerning CETA. “It’s not just signing the accords, as difficult and important as that is. It’s about the follow up, that we continue to demonstrate and give tools to small and medium-sized businesses.”
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Gus Van Harten, an Osgoode Hall law professor who specializes in trade, projected that the European parliament will likely approve the deal and help it to be implemented. However, due to the foreign investor protection mechanism in CETA, which was the main reason that Wallonia voiced its concerns and wanted further explanation on the ramifications, there will be more discussion and negotiations. Agreements and policies will have to be looked over and changed to ease not only Wallonia’s worries, but those of 28 different countries and regional parliaments who may have deeper concerns.
This is one of the most ambitious free trade agreements to date and, if CETA is passed, the Canadian economy and businesses will increase profits significantly.
It would also mean that 98 per cent of tariffs on goods traded between Canada and the EU will be eliminated.
This would mean cheaper German-made cars, affordable Italian suits, cheeses, and meats for Canadians, and a reduced cost for Canadian goods in European markets.
It is also projected to boost the Canadian economy significantly and open up a “huge market” for Canadian companies, according to Stefan Renckens, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto whose research interests include EU politics, and international trade deals, in an interview with CTV News.
CETA will also help Canada diversify its trading relationships, making sure that it would not have to solely rely on the United States. There is also the boost of income CETA should provide, it was concluded in a joint Canada-EU study that with CETA’s implementation it would help increase bilateral trade by 20 per cent annually and boost Canada’s income economy by $12 billion annually. This study also suggested that the economic benefit of CETA would even be equivalent to helping create close to 80,000 new jobs or increasing the average Canadian household annual income by $1,000.
Photo courtesy mpd01605_cc-by-sa-2-0).