Brussels, 22/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - EUROPE returns to the agricultural section (and its gains for the EU) of the agreement in principle sealed between the European Commission and Canadian government on 18 October. A comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada rests on this agreement.
Market access. With annual EU sales of over €2.9 billion, Canada is a valuable export market for agricultural products and agricultural products processed in the EU. Under the agreement, duties for agricultural products will be largely abolished - and quickly. At the end of the transitional periods, the EU and Canada will liberalise 93.5% and 92.8% of their tariff lines respectively. The agreement will offer opportunities for most EU products, the Commission states.
For sensitive products (beef, pork and sweetcorn for the EU, dairy products for Canada), new market access representing respectively a further 1.9% and 1% of tariff lines will be granted under the form of tariff quotas. With the agreement on dairy products (cheese) being an unprecedented concession from Canada to a trade partner, the EU has made a significant effort on beef and pork. The only agricultural products that the parties agreed to leave outside the agreement are chicken meat, eggs and egg products.
For processed agricultural products, the European industry - which already has a surplus trade balance with Canada - will benefit widely from the agreement as all the duties on these products will be abolished. In this category of products, wine and European spirits will gain both from tariff liberalisation and the removal of other obstacles to trade. For wine, a significant gain for the EU is the demand that the Canadian Liquor Boards base their service charges on imported products according to volume rather than value. Because of the quality and value of European wine exports, the current system costs European exporters more.
Protection of geographical indications. The agreement is very positive for EU geographical indications (GI) as 145 emblematic names including Grana Padano, Roquefort, Queso Manchengo and Elia Kalamatas (olives) will benefit from strengthened protection on the Canadian market - and other names can be added to this list in the future.
With regard to the five most controversial names - the most well known being Greek Feta - Canada finally agreed to Europe's demands. These five names are not generic and will be protected as GIs on the Canadian market. Products currently sold in Canada under the name of feta will continue to be so, but a label of origin will have to be placed on them. No evocation (use of Greek flags or alphabet) will be possible, and all new products will have to be called feta-style or feta-like.
The agreement allows five other products (including Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto San Daniele) to be marketed under their denomination, which resolves a conflict between the EU and Canada that has gone on for 20 years, where these names have been forbidden for the last 20 years. For eight other products (including Parmesan and Black Forest ham), the GI is recognised but the translation into English/French is free.
Overall, the CETA will guarantee European producers of specific agricultural products enjoying a GI with better production on the Canadian market, where protection is currently of no impact. In competition with companies using the same name, European producers will have legal rights to oppose mistaken or misleading name uses. More generally, the CETA is a victory for the EU because it sets an important precedent for multilateral trade negotiations. (EH/transl.fl)