AALEP STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE CETA !!!

The CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) will effectively give EU businesses a new market into which they can tap. The idea is to address current issues that EU goods and services face when doing business in Canada, simplifying the process for EU firms at Canada’s federal and provincial level. The deal could save EU exporters around €470 million a year for industrial goods and €42 million a year for agricultural products.

Investment is also a key pillar of this agreement. Canadian companies in Europe create jobs and export from the EU to foreign markets. The value of the goods they produce in the EU is worth much more than all EU-Canada trade, so supporting this investment is key.

The CETA opens up a whole new market that EU businesses can use to grow through changes such as:

• the elimination of nearly all import duties,
• allowing EU companies to bid for public contracts in Canada,
• enabling EU firms to access Canadian services and investment markets,
• allowing European engineers, accountants and architects to provide their services in Canada, and
• helping stop European innovations, artworks, trademarks and traditional food products from being copied unlawfully in Canada.

All products traded between the EU and Canada will see a significant reduction in tariffs; scrapping 99% of all customs duties. This will be of huge benefit for all exports including European wine and spirits exports.

The Canadians will have a cap on how much beef, pork and sweet corn they can export to the EU. In the case of beef, the cap is at 45, 838 tonnes or 0.6% of total beef consumption. There will be no trade liberalisation in poultry and eggs. Quality farming and food is important and is not something that the EU should sacrifice. CETA shows how we can have a trade agreement while not having to compromise on high-quality EU food and produce. Canadian products can only be imported into the EU as long as they are up to EU standards. For example, no beef containing growth hormones or GMOs would be allowed into the EU.

The CETA is the most far-reaching agreement ever concluded by the EU regarding services and investment. European firms will now be able to provide specialised maritime services like dredging, moving empty containers, and shipping certain cargo within Canada. European companies will also have new advantages when it comes to getting investment projects approved in Canada. The protection of investments and enforcement of rights through legal frameworks is essential for any business. Since the CETA does not usurp EU or Canadian law, it cannot be used as a legal basis in EU or Canadian courts.

The CETA will not allow firms sue governments just because profits might be affected. Only legitimate breaches of the CETA will be considered for legal action since cases must fulfil specific criteria.

The EU wants to be economically closer to Canada. It just makes sense. Canada is like-minded, is a sizeable market and has natural resources that the EU needs. Overall the deal would be expected to lift EU output by about 12 billion euros a year.

The European Commission is expected to present its decision on the legal nature of the EU-Canada free trade deal on July 5. The college of the EU’s Commissioners, has to decide whether the CETA with Canada will be presented to the EU states as a so-called “mixed agreement” that requires the approval by all 28 national parliaments, or whether the treaty falls completely under EU competence and can therefore be applied after a simple vote of the European Parliament and the countries’ trade ministers in the Council. However, the trade ministers said last month they would amend the Commissions’ verdict if it was not a mixed agreement — a procedure that is possible if all 28 countries prefer it. Under the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, international trade deals fall in the competence of the European Commission, but there is an ongoing dispute among legal experts about whether parts of the agreements, like investment protection, touch upon national competence as well.

Regardless of the final decision, the Commission could provisionally apply the parts of the CETA that don’t concern national competences once the Council and European Parliament have given their green light and without waiting for all 28 national parliaments.

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