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Gabriel Attal in Canada: what does Ceta, the free trade treaty with Europe, contain?
Gabriel Attal in Canada: what does Ceta, the free trade treaty with Europe, contain?
(franceinfo)
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal arrived on Wednesday April 10 in Ottawa, Canada, to meet his counterpart, Justin Trudeau. Ceta, the free trade treaty between Europe and Canada, was notably on the agenda of the discussions.
Ceta aims to reduce customs duties between Canada and the European Union by 98%. It was adopted by the European Parliament in 2017. Without waiting for its definitive ratification by each of the 27 European countries, it has already been in partial application for seven years. Result: a 24% boom in French wine exports to Canada, 60% for cheese and 142% for textiles and shoes.
French breeders fear massive imports of Canadian beef
Many French breeders fear massive imports of cheaper Canadian beef. “We are talking about being in competition with farms of perhaps 1,000 cows, 2,000 cows. It’s not the same. We need very big safeguards”, warns one of them. According to some economists, this concern is disproportionate. “Imports remained at an extremely low level, of 1,500 tonnes, when the commercial concessions that had been agreed upon during the agreement were 65,000 tonnes”explains an expert. Canada mainly exported oil or minerals to Europe, necessary for the manufacture of electric batteries.
