Explain CETA to us

CETA, the controversial free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada, arrives at the center of discussions Thursday in the Senate. The ensuing vote will ratify or not this agreement, which has already largely applied since 2017.

The Senate will vote on Thursday March 21 to ratify or not the entire CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement). The objective of this agreement is to promote trade between the European Union and Canada.

The agreement removes, for example, customs duties on almost all products. It also allows Canadian and European companies to participate in public procurement on both sides of the Atlantic. Since its partial entry into force in 2017, CETA has made it possible to increase trade in goods between the EU and Canada by around 50%. France exports more wine, cheese and perfume than before, and in exchange, we import, among other things, minerals and rare metals.

Strong abstention and opposition

The Senate must express itself on its definitive ratification or not because for seven years, it has been a partial and provisional application. Only the part of CETA which depends on European competences applies, which nevertheless represents 90% of the agreement. To fully enter into force, each Parliament of the 27 countries must also adopt it. For the moment, 10 states, including France, have not completed this validation process. In France, the text only passed through the National Assembly, with narrow adoption in 2019. We saw a strong abstention in the Macronist ranks. Some elected officials, like French breeders, took a dim view of this treaty which, according to them, allowed the import of Canadian meat meeting less demanding health standards.

Five years later, the text arrived in the Senate. It was the communist group, very opposed to CETA, which decided to include this vote on the agenda during its parliamentary niche. Left-wing elected officials hope to bring the Les Républicains group on board and have the text rejected.

The aftermath of a rejection

In the event of rejection, the CETA will not necessarily be canceled. The text would first return to the National Assembly, where however it would again risk rejection, since the presidential camp does not have an absolute majority. But even the rejection of both chambers does not necessarily signal the end of the agreement. To call into question the application of the trade agreement, the French government would have to notify Brussels of Parliament’s decision, but it is not obliged to do so. In Cyprus, for example, the ratification process was rejected, but the government never notified the European Commission, allowing the agreement to continue to apply.