OTTAWA/BRUSSELS The European Union has convinced Canada to include a new way of settling investor claims in their trade deal, making it more likely that it will be passed and putting the United States under pressure to accept the same terms. “This is a great, gold-plated trade agreement”.
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Freeland called the deal a “landmark” agreement that would bring “tremendous benefit” to both Canadians and Europeans.
Changes made after legal examination of the text, reinforce the right of governments to impose regulations to investors.
The EU-Canada agreement, which could take effect later this year, would end 98 per cent of tariffs on goods traded from the outset and 99 per cent after seven years.
Canadian and European leaders formally concluded the deal in 2014, but implementation has been delayed due to last-minute objections in Europe over provisions to create an investment protection system that would help protect companies from government intervention. “We are confident that CETA will be signed in 2016 and will enter into force in 2017”, the statement said. In a statment, Freeland says, “We have responded to Canadians, EU citizens and businesses with a fairer, more transparent system”.
They have warned it could undermine the ability of countries to regulate environmental and health policies, among other things. “That is the core idea behind trade deals”. He said Canadian and European officials would probably be happy if the arbitration tribunal is never used because they don’t like a process they can’t easily control or predict.
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The release adds, “This represents a clear break from the old Investor to State Dispute Settlement approach, and demonstrates the shared determination of the European Union and Canada to replace the current system with a new dispute settlement mechanism and move toward a permanent multilateral investment court”.
