Article by Patrick Leblond
The Canada - EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement: more to it than meets the eye
Canada and the European Union are currently negotiating the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which, if concluded, would be the most important trade agreement negotiated by Canada since NAFTA. Unlike the latter agreement, however, CETA has so far generated little public discussion. Patrick Leblond argues that this is unfortunate, since CETA has important economic and political ramifications. Economically, it touches on all aspects of Canadian economic activity, from tariffs to regulations, from agriculture to engineering services. Politically, it highlights the weakness of Canada's federal system in negotiating international agreements, which increasingly concern provincial and territorial jurisdictions.
“Canada’s political leaders cannot afford to wait for the next set of international negotiations to devise such a coordinating mechanism,” he says, and he suggests that the Council of the Federation should be seriously considered for the role.
You can read the full article here
28 March, 2011
Please follow the link below to be redirected to the EU SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT ASSESTMENT RELATING TO THE NEGOTIATIONS OF CETA
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/march/tradoc_147754.pdf
February 4, 2011 Toronto Sun
Canada benefits from free-trade: Execs
The majority of business leaders say Canada has benefited from free-trade agreements and reaching an accord with the European Union should be a government priority, according to a new poll.
More than 90% of business leaders agreed the country has done well out of free-trade accords, with 37% saying there is also an urgency to examine our trade relationship with China, according to the survey by business law firm Miller Thomson.
"These results are a testament to how much Canadian businesses are paying attention to markets beyond our borders," said Gerald Courage, chair of Miller Thomson. "As a national business law firm, we can attest to just how important the issue of free trade has become to our domestic and increasingly international client base."
You can read the full article here
January 27, 2011
Straight.com
Big Pharma may profit from Canada–European Union trade agreement
The Stephen Harper government is negotiating a new trade deal with the European Union that could threaten the pocketbooks of those who buy prescription drugs. That’s according to Scott Sinclair, a senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which is a left-leaning think tank.
In a phone interview with the Georgia Straight, Sinclair explained that “leaked text” from the trade talks reveals that the European Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the EU, is seeking to extend monopoly protection for patented medicines. Canada already offers pharmaceutical companies 20 years free of generic competition for their brand-name drugs. Sinclair said that this is among the longest protected periods in the world for patented medicines.
You can read the full article here
December 15, 2010 - Press ReleaseBC Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment
Province optimistic over EU-Canada Free Trade talks
Progress is being made towards a free-trade agreement between Canada and European Union that is expected to mean increased trade and economic activity for many British Columbia businesses, Tourism, Trade and Investment Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said today.
“I’m pleased to hear that the talks are exceeding the expectations of both the federal government and the E.U.” MacDiarmid said. “Free trade with Europe will provide access to the largest trading bloc in the world with a population of a half-billion people, bringing positive benefits to B.C. in areas such as forestry, fisheries, and clean tech.”
You can read the full article here
December 15, 2010 - Press Release -The European Commission's Delegation to Canada
EU and Canada take stock of historic Free Trade Agreement negotiations
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht met with Canada's Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan in Ottawa today, in order to take stock of progress toward a Canada-European Union trade agreement
Commissioner De Gucht and Minister Van Loan declared that significant progress had been achieved and negotiations will continue. Both sides confirmed that negotiations are progressing ahead of expectations and are on track to achieve an agreement by the end of 2011.
“I am delighted with how much ground has already been covered in the negotiation for the benefit of our economies," said Commissioner De Gucht. Minister Van Loan underlined: “Some sensitive areas remain to be addressed and I have instructed our negotiators to explore creative and constructive solutions to resolve these challenges.” He added: "We are moving closer to an agreement that has the potential to increase trade between Canada and the European Union, and create jobs and opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Canada is the EU's eleventh most important trading partner whereas the EU, with its 27 states, is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, after the United States. An economic study jointly released by the EU and Canada in October 2008 shows that a trade agreement would boost the EU's economy by about €16 billion annually.
Since October 2009 the EU and Canada have held five successful rounds of negotiations.
For information on EU-Canada trade relations see:
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/bilateral-relations/countries/canada/
December 2, 2010Calgary Herald
Alberta to benefit by closer European Union Ties
Alberta is an active participant in the ongoing Canada - European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement negotiations and expects a successful outcome to be beneficial for the Province.
A document by the provincial government's ministry of international and intergovernmental relations department says negotiations are expected to be completed in
2011.
Calgary Economic Development and the Italian Chamber of Commerce hosted a roundtable discussion Wednesday on the topic at a luncheon at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
You can read the full article here
October 27, 2010The Globe and Mail
Free-Trade deal could cost thousand of Canadian factory jobs
A free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union would deal another blow to Canada’s already battered manufacturing sector, wiping out thousands of jobs in food processing, apparel making and the auto industry, according to an analysis of a potential agreement that will be released Wednesday.
Canada, which has run an annual trade deficit of $19-billion with the EU, on average, for the past 10 years, would lose 28,000 jobs – most of them in manufacturing – if tariffs were eliminated, says a study done by Canadian Auto Workers economist Jim Stanford for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
You can read the full article here
October 18, 2010The Globe and Mail
Ontario's green policies target in EU trade talks
European Union trade negotiators are taking aim at the provinces’ renewable energy policies – notably Ontario’s Green Energy Act – as they seek to open up provincial procurement markets under a proposed Canada and EU comprehensive trade deal.
Canadian and European negotiators are meeting this week in Ottawa, and federal Trade Minister Peter Van Loan said they are now focusing on the most difficult issues, including Europe’s desire to gain access for its corporations to the lucrative provincial and municipal purchasing budgets.
You can read the full article here
September 27, 2010The Vancouver Sun
Free Trade Opens up new opportunities with Europe
As free-trade talks between Canada and the European Community approach their final stage, it's predictable that groups opposed to any further opening up of trade will portray it as a deadly threat to Canadian jobs.
You can read the full article here.
September 21, 2010The Globe and Mail
Trading partners are closer than they appear
Canada is already more economically engaged with the European Union than is generally supposed, according to a Conference Board of Canada report published on Monday, but that is all the more reason to deepen the relationship in the trade negotiations between Canada and the EU.
The essential message of Danielle Goldfarb and Louis Thériault, the authors of Canada’s ‘Missing’ Trade with the European Union, is that policy-makers should no longer be as concerned as in the past with trade surpluses and trade deficits, especially as calculated according to the quantities of finished goods that cross borders.
You can read the full article here.
July 26, 2010The Globe and Mail
EU eyes Canada’s lucrative public works contracts
Meetings on Canada-Europe free-trade deal included talks on access to about $100-billion a year in federal contracts
Access to Canada’s lucrative public works market is propelling the European Union towards a free trade pact with Ottawa despite fears a deal could swamp Europe with cheap goods or erode environmental rules in Canada.
Meetings in Brussels between the EU and Canada this month ran longer than expected as negotiators considered allowing European bids for public works contracts in Canada worth an estimated $100-billion a year.
Both sides say a deal is possible by the end of next year. Negotiators are due to meet for their next round of negotiations in Canada in October.
You can read the full article here.
June 15, 2010
Vancouver ClubArticle by Don Cayo, Vancouver Sun, June 17, 2010, following Vancouver Seminar held on June 15, 2010
Provinces appear to pull together on trade deal with European Union
The prospects are looking good -- so far, touch wood -- for Canada and the European Union to agree on a very broad free trade deal as early as 2011.
The good news from these negotiations doesn't end there. The provinces, notorious for their perpetual petty protectionism, are part of the fast-track negotiations. And -- so far, touch wood -- they're cooperating, even on touchy issues like government procurement and labour mobility.
The EU's head of economic and commercial affairs in Ottawa, Maurizio Cellini, underlined what a big deal this could be when he spoke this week at a Vancouver Club event organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce. What Canada would get, he said, is unfettered access to the largest integrated market on Earth -- half a billion people with incomes more or less as good as ours.
You can read the full article here.
May 5, 2010
Council of the European UnionStatement following the EU-Canada Summit by the President of the European Commision, Jose` Manuel Durao Barroso.
Good afternoon. It has been a pleasure to be with Prime Minister Harper once again. There were indeed very good, friendly open talks. We've been in number of the Summits together and this shared experience enables us to appreciate fully the progress made in the relations between the EU and Canada and also the potential for further development. [...]
You can download the full document here.
May 5, 2010
Council of the European UnionEU-Canada Summit: Press Statement
The EU-Canada Summit took place in Brussels on 5 May 2010. The EU was represented by Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council; and by Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. Canada was represented by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and security Policy, Mrs. Catherine Ashton, and the Minister of International Trade of Canada, Mr. Peter Van Loan, also attended the summit. [...]
You can download the full document here.
Apr. 30, 2010
The Globe and MailFree trade high on the agenda at Canada-EU summit next week
Canada’s NAFTA-style free-trade negotiations with the European Union will be a major topic on Wednesday when Prime Minister Stephen Harper travels to Brussels for a Canada-EU summit.
The talks have so far received little attention, even though the government says it is working toward an arrangement with the EU’s 27 members that will be broader than the North American free-trade agreement among Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Those negotiations took a surprising twist on Friday, when Trade Minister Peter Van Loan singled out Ontario in a speech to a Toronto business audience, urging those in attendance to press the McGuinty government to support an “ambitious” deal.
Provinces are at the negotiating table for the first time in history on an international trade pact, and the Europeans oppose Ontario’s green energy procurement policies because they give preference to local companies. A spokesman for Ontario Trade Minister Sandra Pupatello bristled at Mr. Van Loan’s remarks, saying “pressure tactics” are not appreciated.
In an interview, Mr. Van Loan said that overall, the negotiations are moving along very well.
“It will be a deeper and broader agreement than even the North American free-trade agreement,” said Mr. Van Loan, who will join the Prime Minister at the summit.
The Canada-EU meeting is Mr. Harper’s first stop in a week-long tour of Europe. He will also take part in 65th anniversary ceremonies marking Canada’s participation in the liberation of the Netherlands on May 5, 1945.
The role of Canadian troops and the fact that the city of Ottawa took in Dutch Princess Juliana and her two daughters during the war – a third was born in Ottawa – has led to a strong bond between the two countries.
Mr. Harper will also visit Croatia and Germany.
The Harper government has made the expansion of free-trade agreements a priority, and estimates an EU deal would boost the Canadian economy by $12-billion a year. Critics say the discussions should be more transparent.
European and Canadian negotiators are wrapping up a third round of talks in Ottawa and a fourth is planned for July in Brussels. A fifth and final round will take place in Canada in October.
Opportunities for free trade with Europe abound, especially in the trade of services. Already, nationalist Maude Barlow, who heads the Council of Canadians, is predicting terrible things if the deal should open up government procurement to European firms, forcing Canadian ones to give the taxpayer at least equal value for the money in order to win contracts. Is this a bad thing?
