Brussels, 15/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Canada's demands on access to the agricultural market are one of the reasons for the failure of the ministerial meeting in Ottawa at the beginning of February. The EU feared that concessions made to Canada might constitute a precedent for future negotiations with the United States.
As was seen last week, more time will be needed to seal an agreement on the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, as the second meeting between European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht and his Canadian counterpart, Ed Fast, in Ottawa on 6-7 February did not enable the negotiations to be concluded definitively. The negotiations were started in 2009 and entered their second phase in autumn 2012.
According to the European Commission, although no agreement has yet been reached the negotiations are a little nearer the goal. “There are still a number of important gaps to be bridged before an agreement is reached (…) Quality and substance of the negotiations remain paramount over speed”, said De Gucht's spokesperson, John Clancy, on his return from Canada.
Trade-offs between De Gucht and Fast in Ottawa, accompanied by European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos, have enabled the agricultural stumbling block to be partly overcome. “We are now in a more realistic zone, but we are still not there yet”, Clancy said.
The agricultural file is coming up against numerous differences of opinion on market access - with Canada presenting an ambitious demand on tariff quotas for its beef and pork exports, and the EU wanting substantial opening of the Canadian market for EU dairy products, and its cheese in particular.
De Gucht and Ciolos have apparently judged as unacceptable the Canadian demand for the opening of a tariff quota at zero duty for 100,000 tonnes for its export of beef to the European market. According to agricultural sources, the EU would apparently be ready to consent to a volume of 50,000 tonnes for beef and a tariff quota of 80,000 tonnes for pork, while Canada would apparently open a tariff quota of 15,000 tonnes for European cheese. (EH/transl.fl)