Will the EU-Canada Trade Deal Influence the Prices of Goods?
On 21st of September, The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada, known as CETA, comes into force provisonally...
On 21st of September, The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada, known as CETA, comes into force provisonally. 98% of the customs duties on goods traded between the North American State and the member states are removed. The agreement was met with resentment by European farmers, who believe that the market will be flooded with cheap imported goods after the duties are dropped.
The agreement covers over 510 million Europeans and 35 million Canadians. CETA will only enter into force fully and definitively, however, when all EU Member States have ratified the Agreement. Currently, it has been ratified by only five countries - Latvia, Denmark, Spain, Croatia and Malta.
The agreement will facilitate exports of goods such as cheese and alcoholic beverages to Canada. European farmers, however, fear that imported Canadian products meet lower sanitary standards. Some sensitive sectors such as poultry production remain fully protected, while quotas will be introduced for others, such as beef, pork and corn.
European companies will have access to public procurement tenders in Canada, including cities and provinces. Europeans are now giving Canadian companies wide access to public procurement.
According to a study by the European Commission, CETA will contribute about 2 billion euros a year to the EU's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This figure is insignificant given that in 2015 the European GDP was 14,600 billion euros. The EU is Ottawa's second-largest trading partner, but for Europeans, Canadian trade is only 10th in importance.
