Canada and the European Union have finalised the text of a proposed
free trade agreement after months of wrangling, in a deal which is
expected to serve as a blueprint for a similar agreement with the United
States.
The two sides initialised a deal in principle last October, but the talks then ran into trouble over issues ranging from financial services and investor protections to how beef and cheese quotas are shared out.
"Today, Canada and the European Union are pleased to announce that officials have reached a complete text, allowing translation and final legal review to commence," said a statement from the Canada Trade Ministry.
The deal would make Canada the world's only major economy with preferential access to the world's two largest economies, the EU and the United States.
"Out of more than 9,000 EU tariff lines, approximately 98% will be duty-free for Canadian goods when the Canada-EU trade pact comes into force," the ministry said.
For Europe, the accord is meant to be a template for its trade negotiations with the United States, which would encompass a third of world trade and almost half the global economy.
Read more: EU finalises free trade agreement with Canada | EurActiv
The two sides initialised a deal in principle last October, but the talks then ran into trouble over issues ranging from financial services and investor protections to how beef and cheese quotas are shared out.
"Today, Canada and the European Union are pleased to announce that officials have reached a complete text, allowing translation and final legal review to commence," said a statement from the Canada Trade Ministry.
The deal would make Canada the world's only major economy with preferential access to the world's two largest economies, the EU and the United States.
"Out of more than 9,000 EU tariff lines, approximately 98% will be duty-free for Canadian goods when the Canada-EU trade pact comes into force," the ministry said.
For Europe, the accord is meant to be a template for its trade negotiations with the United States, which would encompass a third of world trade and almost half the global economy.
Read more: EU finalises free trade agreement with Canada | EurActiv
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