After seven years and the last-minute standoff with Wallonia, the French speaking area in Belgium, the free trade deal between the EU and Canada (CETA) was signed last weekend.

This treaty hasn’t generated the publicity of TTIP or Mercosur though it has been opposed by the farm organisations and some politicians. While it makes provision for imports into the EU from Canada, there is significant trade the other way for dairy, pigmeat and some beef. While it won’t solve Ireland’s need for new beef export markets on its own, it will make a useful contribution, particularly for higher quality manufacturing beef. It will be sporadic, much in the way the Philippines was two years ago when it cleared stocks of manufacturing beef.

Trade deals don’t have to be bad for agriculture, they depend on the terms that are negotiated and in the case of CETA, a reasonable balance seems to have been achieved.

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Irish exporters can do business in Canada