CETA has been described as the most ambitious
and progressive trade deal ever signed by the EU.
the 1500 page agreement entered into force in September 2017 after seven years of
negotiation and intense protest campaign and a threat of veto by the Belgian
region of Wallonia. A year and a half after entering into force
what has CETA achieved and what concerns still remain? CETA has removed virtually
all custom duties on goods between Canada and the EU totalling around 590
million euros per year. It has improved access for EU companies on Canada's
services and public procurement markets. It facilitated the movement of people
and formalized a recognition of professional qualifications and 143 of
the EU geographical indications of high-quality food are now protected in
Canada such as Greek Kalamata olives, German Schwarzwälder, and Dutch Gouda cheese.
What has been the result? It is still early days but the impact on trade
is already visible. In the first nine months of application the EU registered
a ten point three percent increase in goods and services exports to Canada. In
Belgium for example chocolate makers exported 34% more to Canada after
benefiting from the elimination of ten percent tariff and there's still no sign
of chlorinated chicken or hormone treated beef. But what about other concerns about CETA?
One of the most controversial issues was
the system to settle disputes between investors and the host state. CETA was
the first trade agreement in which the EU negotiated these opaque courts on behalf of the member states.
Responding to concerns raised by civil society
organizations and a European Parliament's request the EU reformed the
existing investor state dispute settlement to replace the international
arbitration with a new investment court system in CETA. Under the new system
investors have no say in choosing the members of the dispute settlement.
Instead the court will be made of a tribunal an appellate body selected on a
rotating basis from a group of judges. Although some issues remain to be
concluded such as the court members code of conduct, the new design helped to
convince some of the past critics. In addition the EU code of justice blessed
the new system and concluded that it did not jeopardize the autonomy of EU law.
CETA's ambition derived from its goal not only to scrap duties but to progress on
non-tariff barriers. NGOs and unions fear that the EU was risking to downgrading
stricter EU regulations or to weaken labor rights. However no article in
CETA sustained a“blind race to the abyss”.
The deal integrates the EU's and Canada's commitments to apply international rules
on workers right, environmental protection, and climate action. These
obligations are binding and includes the ratification and implementation of the
International Labour Organization conventions. But unions call for step
further to include binding penalties for violations against workers rights to
ensure that labor standards are as enforceable as investment rules.
As the EU in Canada are like-minded partners in protecting the environment
and fighting against climate change, CETA contains a trade and environment
chapter that includes commitments in areas such as on the sustainable
management of forests, fisheries and aquaculture. It also binds both partners
to effectively implement all ratified multilateral environmental agreements
now including the Paris climate Accord. The deal did not open the gate to
Canadian ‘oil sands’ exports to the EU, and fuel produced from oil sands and oil shale remains subject to strict EU law.
CETA will require close monitoring and
support to those who may not benefit from it but compared with past trade
deals the agreement improved the inclusiveness to ensure that civil
society groups can control that the commitments made are implemented
including an open review clause to enforce all its clauses. Transparency is
an ally for CETA to remain as a model for future trade deals in times of rising
protectionism fueled by disinformation and false claims.