CETA comes into provisional effect

The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) goes into provisional effect Thursday, immediately removing tariffs on 98 percent of goods traded between the European Union and Canada.    The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada enters into force provisionally on Thursday, Sept. 21.
   First signed in October 2016, and ratified by Canada in May 2017, CETA will open bilateral trade between Canada and the EU and reduce tariffs. Once in full effect, CETA will also implement a new and improved Investment Court System to replace the current investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism that exists in many bilateral trade agreements negotiated in the past by EU Member States’ governments.
   CETA will only enter into force fully and definitively, however, when all EU Member States have ratified the agreement.The European Commission will work with EU Member States and Canada to ensure its smooth and effective implementation, the commission said in a statement. 
   According to the EC, CETA will save EU businesses 590 million euros (U.S. $702.8 million) a year, or the amount paid in tariffs on goods exported to Canada. The provisional agreement removes duties on 98 percent of products that the EU trades with Canada.
   “Things are about to change for our exporters. The provisional entry into force allows EU companies and citizens to start reaping the benefits of this agreement right away. This is a positive signal for the global economy, with the potential to boost economic growth and create jobs,” said EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström.
   “CETA is a modern and progressive agreement, underlining our commitment to free and fair trade based on values,” she added. “It helps us shape globalization and the rules that govern global commerce. Moreover, CETA underlines our strong commitment to sustainable development and protects the ability of our governments to regulate in the public interest.”
   EC President Jean-Claude Juncker lauded the agreement, saying that it “encapsulates what we want our trade policy to be – an instrument for growth that benefits European companies and citizens, but also a tool to project our values, harness globalization and shape global trade rules.”
   Shipowners and ports are particularly pleased with the agreement, with the European Community Shipowners’ Association stating that it will cut customs duties and open new markets such as dredging, movement of empty containers and increased transportation to Canadian ports.
   “Shipping needs global trade to exist and global trade cannot exist without an efficient shipping industry,” ECSA President Niels Smedegaard said in a statement Thursday. “Around 80 percent of world trade in goods is carried by the international shipping industry, and European shipowners control 40 percent of the world’s merchant fleet and operate shipping services all over the world.”
   The Port of Halifax hailed the CETA agreement as a boon for ports in Canada as well.
   “This has been a long journey involving multiple governments and organizations on both sides of the Atlantic, and the perseverance shown by all involved underscores the importance of international cooperation,” Halifax Port Authority President and CEO Karen Oldfield said of the deal.