Source: AFP
Canadian farmers say they are baffled by the French Senate’s rejection of the EU-Canada free trade deal last week — as agricultural producers and trade experts suggest the deal mainly benefits Europeans over their North American counterparts .
“We’re not satisfied with the deal either,” Canadian farmer Kirk Jackson said.
Following its approval by the European Parliament in early 2017, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been provisionally applied since September of that year.
European “fantasies” about Canadian agriculture
For Genevieve Dufour, an expert in international trade law at the University of Ottawa, there continues to be a lot of “imagination” about how Europeans view Canadian agriculture.
In practice, no products banned in Europe are allowed to pass through EU customs under the rules set out in CETA.
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“We often hear about (imports of) beef with hormones, genetically modified organisms.” But “in reality, that’s not exactly the case.” Dufour said.
“The French can decide not to import certain products (and) that’s what they do,” he explained.
“Based on Science”
These restrictions are also viewed negatively by Canadian farmers and the agri-food sector, who do not understand the rejection of their practices by Europe.
“It wasn’t a good deal for Canada from the beginning because Europe decided to put in place technical restrictions,” explained Jackson, a farmer and representative of Canadian livestock producers who defends the use of hormones in the industry.
Source: AFP
He insists these practices are controlled and “based on science.”
“Our food goes through a verification system that is one of the best in the world and scientifically there is no risk. So we should not use false, unverified information to distort trade,” said Michael Harvey, executive director of Canadian Agri – Food Trade Alliance.
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Given the restrictions, few Canadian livestock producers have chosen to export to the European market. In 2023, 1,360 metric tons of beef were exported to the EU, just 2% of the volume authorized by the agreement. For France, the figures are even smaller: less than 30 metric tons of Canadian beef were imported in 2023.
CETA benefits for Europe
“When we look at the figures, we realize that the Europeans are the ones who gain the most from this deal and that the French are not really left out,” said Genevieve Dufour. “Canada is an excellent export market for France.”
In terms of trade flowing west over the Atlantic, EU beef exports to Canada have increased by 1,700 metric tons to 14,000 metric tons over the past seven years.
Among the other big winners in the trade deal: wines, spirits and cheeses.
“We cannot limit the free trade agreement to just agriculture,” Dufour added.
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“France has won a lot in terms of pharmaceutical protection and companies can respond to (Canadian) public calls for tenders, a possibility that has never been given to any trading partner,” the lawyer added.
Accord results are likely to increase
For seven years, Canada has mainly exported to Europe and France transportation materials, oil and minerals such as uranium and lithium, which are essential for environmentally friendly production.
These missions between Canada and Europe have taken on new importance since the start of the war in Ukraine and the implementation of European sanctions against the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Thanks to CETA, Europe has been able to substitute Canadian products for the Russian products it no longer imports — so Canadian exports of oil, nickel, fertilizers and wheat have increased significantly.
In the future, the agreement “could become even more useful,” a diplomatic source explained. “Canada is a country of critical minerals and the Europeans will need them to continue their energy transition efforts,” the same source added.
Source: AFP