New Canadian Trade Horizons

"There's always offensive and defensive interests. There are always gains and there are always compromises.
"This agreement is vastly positive for the Canadian economy across the board. It is not a perfect deal, because it's a deal. But it is not just a good deal; it's an excellent deal."              Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Prime Minister Harper and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso sign an agreement for free trade between Canada and the European Union. (Richard Madan / CTV National News)

"Sometimes there are some concerns expressed, mainly here in Europe, that trade liberalization could lower the standards in several fields. This is not at all the case with this historic achievement. 
"At the end, we came to a compromise, and that's the way it has to be. I believe that in the European Union it will be strongly supported."
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso

Prime Minister Stephen Harper shakes hands with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso smile after they conclude a signing ceremony at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. (AP / Yves Logghe)

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement signed at long last by Canada and the European Union, after completing negotiations that began in 2009, will see Canada with its 35-million population having an open trade agreement with some hold-backs agreed upon, with the ferociously powerful 500-million combined population European Union trade market. This will be to the benefit of cross trade between the two sides, and will hugely benefit the smaller market in particular.

Just as the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States strategically enhanced trade between the North American countries, contributing to the wealth of all three, giving benefit to consumers in all three countries and increasing employment opportunities substantially for all the partners, this new trade deal between Canada and the EU will do much the same.

There are many positives and a few negatives, among the latter the extended two-year pharmaceuticals licensing to come into full effect in eight years' time, presenting a challenge to provincial health costs. Which the federal government has promised it would bridge the financial gap for, just as it has assured production sectors like cheesemakers in Canada (particularly Quebec) that any losses they sustain will be subsidized as well.

Prime Minister Harper is now assured that his legacy project has been accomplished. He has focused on achieving a trade deal that surpasses in magnitude those he has heretofore tasked his negotiators with, in country-to-country free trade deals. This one in very particular represents the largest trade agreement that Canada has finally succeeded with. An anticipated $17-trillion in annual economic activity may result from this negotiation.

It may not yet be fully completed, but it appears on track to doing just that, after it has passed the hurdles of legal fine print and translation into the various languages represented by the EU membership, and finally the EU's 28-member-states must give it their final stamp of approval after the European Parliament has ratified the agreement. A period of between one-and-a-half and two years is expected for completion.

The government fully expects that all provinces and territories will be in support of the trade agreement, particularly since it intends to compensate jurisdictions that may be adversely affected. Those sectors more positively affected will include Canadian meat producers, wheat and canola oil, lumber and forestry products, and vehicle production. The EU will benefit by greater access to government procurement contracts and cheese export, among other areas.

There was a real concern that Canada and the European Union would be stuck over the issue of pharmaceutical patent protection, and supply management for dairy, eggs and poultry, but both sides seemed determined to surmount those issues, and it appears they have. Another notable concern for Canada was that the impending negotiations between the European Union and the United States would put the Canada-EU agreement on a back burner.

Now, it is thought that the CETA may very well present as a template for the negotiations and conclusion of the EU-US trade agreement. As the world becomes one giant goods and services trading portfolio.