Live from Europe. The treaty of free trade between the EU and Canada in failure – Franceinfo

(BRUNO FAHY / BELGA)

For the canadian minister of Trade, asked by chrystia Freeland, “the ball is in the camp of Europe” after the failure of negotiations on Friday with Wallonia. She hoped that the free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union to be signed as planned on the 27th of October.

The CETA is a trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, negotiated for seven years now. The equivalent of the TAFTA, the agreement with the United States, which is still under negotiation. The goal : to facilitate trade between the two continents by removing customs duties.

Each country commits to adhere to common standards regarding the mode of production, the environment and the protection of consumers. But the current rules between Canada and the European Union are quite different. The risk for José Bové, member of Europe Ecology The Greens, is that these standards are more lax : “The purpose of this commission will be to ensure that the rules are the least heavy possible for transnational companies to make returning products as they see fit. This will pose problems in terms of health, sanitation and protection of the environment.”

The AACC also provides a better access to canadian public markets for european companies. 30% of public procurement will be open, compared to 10% today. On the european side, 90% of public procurement markets are already open. This agreement is therefore indispensable for Franck Proust, mep member of the Republicans : “Thea situation that we know, it is the inability for our companies to meet the canadian market, in particular on public procurement, since there is no reciprocity. If our companies want to restore growth and jobs, it is necessary to go to seek market share in emerging countries, on the countries of the G7.”

The opposition, it is estimated that today, no study can truly know the capacity of the CETA to boost the gross domestic product and the number of jobs that could be created. The 28 member States are all in favour of the treaty, which would be the first trade agreement that the european bloc with a country of the G7.

But the belgian government may not give its approval without the support of its five regions. The the Walloon Parliament has rejected the treaty last Friday. The president of the european Parliament has maintained the planned summit with Canada on the 27th of October. To enter into force, the treaty must still be ratified by the european Parliament, in January, and then by the parliament of each member State.

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