Negotiators from the federal and provincial governments are spending a second week in Brussels for intensive negotiations toward a Canada-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
The Canada-EU talks were originally supposed to wrap up by the end of 2011. That timeline was extended by a year as negotiators on both sides said talks were progressing, albeit more slowly than hoped. In the last few months of 2012, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has repeatedly said he hoped to see talks conclude before the end of the year.
The impetus to conclude the talks for the EU is to show the Americans they are willing to make reasonable compromises in future talks when it comes to agriculture.
For Canada, beyond boosting international trade by as much as 20 per cent and diversifying its economy away from reliance on the U.S., Harper wants to show critics and other trading partners that Canada can negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement while leaving intact Canada's supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs.
Despite the delays, sources familiar with the negotiations say they believe a deal is within reach in the coming weeks, but at the outset of the latest talks, six key points remained unresolved:
Read more: 6 potential stumbling blocks to Canada-EU trade deal - Politics - CBC News
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