(Ottawa) It will soon be difficult to find English cheeses in Canadian supermarkets, while the two countries are still trying to negotiate fair trade conditions following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.
December 31 will mark the end of an interim agreement which provides for Ottawa to offer London a special quota of English cheeses that can be imported into Canada at low tariffs.
Canada made this offer in the hope of having already signed a permanent agreement with the United Kingdom to replace the “trade continuity agreement”, which entered into force on 1er April 2021. This agreement maintained in place some of the conditions that governed trade between the two countries before “Brexit”.
But negotiations to replace the interim agreement are not over. The United Kingdom is notably rejecting Ottawa’s requests to authorize Canada to export meat raised with hormones. London is also demanding better access to the Canadian dairy products market, protected in part by supply management.
Peter Holmes, a researcher at the British Trade Policy Observatory, says Canada has the upper hand at the negotiating table, since the British government wants new trade deals to convince English voters that the Conservatives have finally managed the ” Brexit.”
Mr. Holmes says disagreements over cheese and beef are likely leading Ottawa to delay its approval of the U.K.’s membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, even though both countries insist they have good relations. good relations.