Canada-EU trade deal hits a snag







The massive trade deal Canada and the European Union have been negotiating over the past few months seems to have snagged in recent days. During the G8 summit currently taking place in Enniskillen Northern Ireland, deals were being negotiated, but it wasn’t with Canada and the EU.

Instead, it involved the United States and the EU, even though the EU and Canada have not yet closed any deals, and are still in the negotiation process.

Prime Minister Harper has been shrugging off this recent development, telling reporters at the G8 Summit on June 17th that further negotiations were needed to successfully close the deal, reiterating a deal could only close if the elements of it suited Canadians.

He also said he found the US-EU talks of their own bi-lateral agreement “interesting.”

" [The potential trade agreement between the EU and U.S is] interesting. I think in terms of the global trading system [it] is a positive thing.

"In terms of our own negotiations, I think you could say maybe there are some advantages, maybe there are some disadvantages. But I don't think it changes the fundamental calculus, which is we should stay at the table until we get a deal that is in the best interests of Canadians. We're not quite there, but we continue to make progress and we continue to be committed to progress," Prime Minister Harper said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has made it clear there have been struggles regarding lack of “flexibility” to close the deal during the G8 Summit itself, but he remained hopeful that there were many issues left to discuss.

"The negotiations as I can see it have been going well. I think they are really nearly over. There just wasn't enough flexibility right here [at the G8 Summit] to do the final deal," Cameron said.

While it is important for Canada to protect its interests especially in trade agreements, having a negative or overly lengthy experience could be off-putting for any future bilateral agreements.


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