

EU-Canada (CETA)

March 2009 saw the formal start of negotiations towards the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and its second largest economic partner, the European Union. The Toronto-based lobby group, the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business, supported by 60 European and Canadian corporate executives, had been pushing for this deal, for which its most vocal supporters in Europe were France’s Sarkozy and Germany’s Merkel. The agreement was signed in September 2014 and is currently in the process of being ratified.
CETA is a wide-ranging deal which includes trade in goods, intellectual property, investment, technical barriers to trade, regulatory cooperation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and competition policy.
During the negotiations, a number of municipal councils in Canada, including Toronto’s city council, voiced their opposition and voted to demand that they be excluded from such a deal, citing issues over their ability to make decisions, particularly in relation to government procurement, one of the EU’s main interests.
Many were concerned about the deal’s proposed investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which gives corporations from either side of the Atlantic the right to sue a state if new laws or regulations negatively affect their expected profits or investment potential.
In the face of an outcry from European civil society groups, the European Commission designed a new arbitration procedure, dubbed an ‘investment court system’, to replace ISDS. In February 2016, the Commission announced that the new ISDS mechanism had been included in the treaty. However many critics on both sides of the Atlantic say that this new system is largely window-dressing, does not address the core of the problem behind investor-state dispute measures, and they continue to oppose ISDS in any form.
ISDS has also been described as a clear threat to any measures aiming to tackle climate change. The greenhouse gas emissions from Canada’s tar sands oil are 23 per cent higher than those of conventional oil. As CETA will liberalise the transatlantic energy trade, it will lead to a rise in production of tar sands oil for the European market. Any government trying to limit the flow of tar sands oil in response to global warming could face an ISDS claim from an oil corporation.
As part of the negotiations, EU delegates sought the recognition of European geographical indications (GI) such as Feta cheese or cured meats. Dairy farmers in Canada were worried that EU demands would prevent them from using certain names on cheeses. Eventually, the agreement recognised 173 European geographical indications, excluding wines and spirits.
The impact of CETA on farmers in general is of particular concern. Transnational seed corporations will be handed sweeping new enforcement powers to maintain their control over seeds. Worse, the agreement will almost entirely eliminate the rights of farmers to save, reuse and sell seeds. Besides, removing tariffs on agricultural goods will lead to a loss of revenue for farmers and will only benefit large exporting farming companies.
The “Cross Border Trading in Services” chapter liberalises labour mobility. Temporary work permits can be issued to workers in certain professions from one signatory country who desire to work in the other party’s territory. In time, this will mean fewer permanent jobs, as the trend towards temporary contractual work will increase, and lower wages, caused by more workers competing for the same jobs.
In addition, CETA institutionalises regulatory convergence between the parties, which implies future cooperation on all regulations about trade in goods and services. A Joint Committee and the Regulatory Cooperation Forum are intended to deal with the harmonisation, the mutual recognition, or the conformity assessment of regulations on both sides, either in place or planned, to overcome divergences that inhibit trade. This mechanism would restrict the states’ right to regulate and grant extended regulatory power to stakeholders (i.e. corporations) involved in the process. Further, the precautionary principle, a core element of European regulatory policy, is practically absent from CETA.
On 21 September 2017 CETA entered into force provisionally, after it was ratified by the European Parliament and it received Royal Assent in Canada on 16 May 2017. Most of the agreement now applies but national parliaments - and in some cases regional ones as well - in EU countries need to approve it before it can take full effect. The controversial investor-state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS) will only be implemented when the deal is fully in force.
The text of the agreement: https://www.bilaterals.org/?eu-canada-fta-ceta-consolidated-31577
last update: February 2018
Articles
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18-Apr-2018 Alternatives Economiques Pourra-t-on encore interdire le glyphosate avec le Ceta ?
Il est au moins un domaine dans lequel un partenariat renforcé entre la France et le Canada apparaît dangereux : les normes sanitaires. -
29-Mar-2018 CNCD 11.11.11 Leak : réunion d’un comité opaque du CETA sur les pesticides
Un document interne révèle le programme du comité portant sur les réglementations sanitaires et phytosanitaires, considérées par les firmes de l’agrobusiness comme des obstacles au commerce. -
29-Mar-2018 Medium CETA: Secret committee on pesticides meets in Ottawa on March 26–27
Leaked EU documents reveal a secret committee will begin discussions on how to weaken norms on pesticides and food quality standards. -
7-Mar-2018 La Libre Le Ceta pourrait être incompatible avec le droit de l’UE
Un arrêt de la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne (CJUE) donne de nombreux espoirs aux opposants du traité de libre-échange entre l’UE et le Canada (Ceta). -
7-Mar-2018 CIEL Case studies demonstrate EU member state protections threatened by CETA
Regulating in the public interest at risk if Member States ratify Canada-EU trade deal -
15-Feb-2018 No al TTIP Los dudosos estándares de medio ambiente de Canadá que sirvieron para aprobar el CETA
Las élites europea y española enarbolaron la política medioambiental canadiense para sacar adelante el tratado. El primer ministro Trudeau, que vendió su candidatura como defensora del medio ambiente, se alinea hoy con el lobby petrolero en defensa se del Keystone XL, un proyecto que Obama descartó por sus daños medioambientales. -
5-Feb-2018 Euractiv Le parcours du CETA reste mouvementé en France
Après son entrée en vigueur provisoire en septembre, l’accord commercial entre l’UE et le Canada fait toujours l’objet d’une large défiance en France, rendant le chemin de la ratification semé d’embuches. -
31-Jan-2018 Greenpeace CETA, regulatory cooperation and food safety
Agricultural and food standards are among those targeted by CETA’s focus on eliminating so-called ‘non-tariff barriers’. -
24-Jan-2018 No al TTIP Bruselas tranquiliza al Gobierno de Rajoy: seguirá impulsando acuerdos comerciales con blindaje a las multinacionales
La Comisión Europea empieza el nuevo año político con algunas novedades, pero con la intención de mantener los mecanismos que blindan a las multinacionales en el marco de los acuerdos comerciales. -
17-Jan-2018 EFEAGRO Canadá incumple el CETA y aún discrimina al vino español
La Alianza Progresista de Socialistas y Demócratas en el Parlamento Europeo denuncia que el CETA se está incumpliendo, al discriminarse aún a los vinos europeos y españoles. -
16-Jan-2018 La Marea La UE acelera la liberalización comercial en el primer año de Trump
En un momento en el que EEUU parece retirarse del escenario neoliberal global y China aún no ha dado un puño sobre la mesa, la UE acelera su estrategia comercial. -
8-Jan-2018 Maersk Europe reaps Canada’s wheat belt
A new trade agreement between the EU and Canada is expected to increase bilateral trade by USD 14 billion. -
8-Dec-2017 Inf’OGM La France a « un plan d’action » pour le Ceta
Une des pierres angulaires du dossier des nouvelles techniques de modification génétique concerne la capacité à détecter, identifier et tracer les produits issus de ces techniques. -
23-Nov-2017 Público El Gobierno reconoce que con el CETA sólo podrá aplicar políticas medioambientales o sanitarias "siempre que estén justificadas"
En respuesta a una batería de preguntas parlamentarias de Unidos Podemos en el Congreso, el Ejecutivo rechaza encargar un estudio sobre el impacto del acuerdo comercial entre Bruselas y Canadá en España, a la vez que afirma que éste no va a tener "efectos negativos", sin tener ningún informe que sustente este vaticinio. -
23-Nov-2017 No al TTIP Respuesta del Gobierno español a la pregunta parlamentaria sobre la aplicación provisional del CETA
Hace dos meses el Grupo Parlamentario Confederal de [email protected] Podemos-En Comú Podem-En Marea presentó una pregunta parlamentaria por escrito dirigida al Gobierno sobre la aplicación provisional del CETA y el informe de expertos independientes encargado por Macron. -
22-Nov-2017 No al TTIP Bienvenido a la tierra prometida de ‘CETA-Land’, empresario
Lo están promocionando -y lo promocionarán- con dinero público, obviando las sombras que rodean al acuerdo, el informe del Parlamento Europeo que advierte de que destruirá más de 200.000 empleos, el apoyo incondicional de las grandes corporaciones. -
22-Nov-2017 No al TTIP Día de la absolución del CETA: se culmina el divorcio con la realidad
“Pareciera que son las élites económicas, y no sólo los populistas de ultraderecha, quienes están comenzando a desembarazarse del concepto de ‘verdad‘”, sostiene Ekaitz Cancela. -
9-Nov-2017 El Perioódico Lo que nos tragaremos con el CETA
El acuerdo comercial de la UE y Canadá permitirá en Europa productos alimentarios hasta ahora prohibidos -
9-Nov-2017 Alternatives Economiques CETA : le compte n’y est toujours pas sur le climat
Plusieurs modifications indispensables auraient dû être apportées au CETA pour le rendre climato-compatible. -
6-Nov-2017 Inf’OGM OGM et Ceta - Les députés demandent des garanties
Dix-huit députés de la majorité proposent d’« étendre le moratoire français actuel aux nouveaux OGM et aux OGM cachés »
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RQIC
Le Réseau Québécois sur l’Intégration Continentale fait campagne contre l’Accord économique et commercial global (AÉCG) entre le Canada et l’Union européenne -
The autumn of action
Last days of CETA - September to November 2016 -
Unravelling CETA
This website and the campaign “Unravelling CETA” have been launched by MEPs of the Progressive Caucus of the European Parliament.