Brussels, 31/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The EU and Canada will not conclude their complete bilateral agreement on the economy and trade (CETA) as they intended, before the end of the year.
In an interview to the European web news site, ViEUws, broadcast this week, Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he was optimistic about concluding an EU/Canada free-trade agreement, launched in 2009, before the end of the year but stated that, “We should have no illusions…There are still a number of difficult issues to tackle. So I'm not promising anything.” The Commissioner, however, provided assurances that his meeting on 20 November with the Canadian minister for trade, Ed Fast, “would be a final opportunity to sort it out and do the necessary political arbitration.”
Negotiations are stumbling on important questions, despite there being fewer of them, for both the EU and Canada. These include rules on investment, services, public procurement and rules of origin.
In a joint letter dated 29 October, European and Canadian business leaders called for the comprehensive dismantling of customs duties for all industrial products, increased access to the market in raw materials and energy products, as well as increased access in all services sectors. They also called for an ambitious agricultural package, transparent rules of origin, better access to public markets, greater regulatory cooperation and robust protection of intellectual property rights. (EH/transl.fl)