The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) free trade agreement between the EU and Canada is to be applied provisionally from Sept. 21, the two sides announced in a joint statement on Saturday.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed on the date pending full application of the agreement once it has been approved by parliaments of all EU member states.
That approval must follow on from that previously given by the European and Canadian parliaments — although the process could take some years.
“As of September 21, 98% of CETA will be applied, creating more jobs for people & opportunities for businesses,” Trudeau wrote on Twitter.
Juncker and Trudeau are currently at the G20 summit in Hamburg.
The choice of the September date will allow “for all the necessary implementing measures to be taken before that date,” according to a statement that was released.
“The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement marks a new chapter in the relationship between the EU and Canada,” it said.
“It is by opening up to each other, by working closely with those who share the same values that we will shape and harness globalization,” the statement added.
Several details still require ironing out, according to comments made last month by an EU diplomat, not least the management of cheese import quotas.
Trudeau had personally buttonholed Juncker for provisional application of the accord running to 1,600 pages and hammered out over seven years “as soon as possible.”
Brussels says the agreement is to ultimately scrap 99 percent of customs duties between the EU and Ottawa, bolstering trade by a quarter with Canada, the union’s 12th-biggest trade partner.
One sensitive issue left aside for now is that of potentially allowing multinational corporations investing abroad to sue states that adopt policies they perceive as against the companies’ interests.
The so-called Inter State Dispute Settlement arbitration mechanism is hugely controversial.
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