After seven years of negotiation, and multiple approval processes, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) passed its final EU hurdle in the European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg this week. The agreement now comes into effect provisionally as it still has to be approved by EU member states. What exactly will happen if some countries withhold consent is unclear at this stage.
The final vote in Parliament was 408 in favour to 254 against. Given the make-up of the Parliament, it was expected that it would carry and in the aftermath of the UK deciding to leave, along with the stalling of TTIP, it was important for the EU to get a trade deal over the line. It will give encouragement to European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström as the EU seeks to speed up discussions with Mexico and Indonesia with a deal between the EU and Japan nearing conclusion.
The vote in Parliament followed a recommendation by the trade committee which voted 25-15 to recommend approval in their meeting at the end of January and other committees asked for opinions including foreign affairs, employment, social affairs and environment, public health and food safety all gave a majority positive view.
Irish votes
Irish MEPs were divided on CETA. Fine Gael members all voted in favour, while Sinn Féin members voted against, as did independents Luke Ming Flanagan and Marian Harkin.
Speaking on behalf of his Fine Gael colleagues, Sean Kelly said: “CETA will eliminate almost 92% of tariffs meaning agricultural and food products [exported] to Canada will be duty-free. However, it is also important to note that certain sensitive sectors, such as beef and pork will have limited quotas….and of course, only hormone-free produce will be allowed into the EU.”
In opposing the deal, Sinn Féin’s Matt Carty said: “Unfair competition due to different scales and models of agricultural production are among the biggest threats for our domestic economy posed by this deal. Market failure due to agribusiness market concentration is another.”
Luke Ming Flanagan also opposed CETA, particularly the level of beef access, saying: “The 55,000t quota could equate to the high-value cuts of approximately 800,000 head of cattle; to put this in context, Ireland’s weekly kill is about 30,000 head. Imports of this magnitude will decimate our beef industry.” Marian Harkin explained her decision to oppose CETA as being guided by responses she received from farm organisations that raised concern about beef access and the EU’s Cumulative Impact Assessment on trade deals, which highlighted the negative effect on beef.
What CETA means for Irish farmers
CETA will remove tariffs on 92% of goods and services traded between the EU and Canada. It also provides for the mutual recognition of certification for a wide range of products which means that beef produced in Ireland, complying with EU standards, will be accepted in Canada. The significant products from a farming perspective that are excluded from the deal are poultry, dairy and eggs.
Canada is thought by the Irish agricultural industry to have some market potential and it is the key North American market for Australia and New Zealand after the US.
With the negative effect of Brexit, particularly on the Irish beef sector, the potential to do business with other markets is welcome. The big question, however, is just how significant will granting Canada access to the EU market for 50,000t be. This has caused concern among the farming organisations with the IFA taking the position that the EU market cannot carry all the beef it currently has, never mind a further 50,000t. Those in favour of the agreement say that 50,000t is relatively low given that Brazil’s ask in Mercosur discussions was reported to be 150,000t. A further reassurance from those in favour of the deal is that Canadian access to the EU beef market is limited to hormone-free beef only.
Read more
Full coverage: CETA
After seven years of negotiation, and multiple approval processes, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) passed its final EU hurdle in the European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg this week. The agreement now comes into effect provisionally as it still has to be approved by EU member states. What exactly will happen if some countries withhold consent is unclear at this stage.
The final vote in Parliament was 408 in favour to 254 against. Given the make-up of the Parliament, it was expected that it would carry and in the aftermath of the UK deciding to leave, along with the stalling of TTIP, it was important for the EU to get a trade deal over the line. It will give encouragement to European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström as the EU seeks to speed up discussions with Mexico and Indonesia with a deal between the EU and Japan nearing conclusion.
The vote in Parliament followed a recommendation by the trade committee which voted 25-15 to recommend approval in their meeting at the end of January and other committees asked for opinions including foreign affairs, employment, social affairs and environment, public health and food safety all gave a majority positive view.
Irish votes
Irish MEPs were divided on CETA. Fine Gael members all voted in favour, while Sinn Féin members voted against, as did independents Luke Ming Flanagan and Marian Harkin.
Speaking on behalf of his Fine Gael colleagues, Sean Kelly said: “CETA will eliminate almost 92% of tariffs meaning agricultural and food products [exported] to Canada will be duty-free. However, it is also important to note that certain sensitive sectors, such as beef and pork will have limited quotas….and of course, only hormone-free produce will be allowed into the EU.”
In opposing the deal, Sinn Féin’s Matt Carty said: “Unfair competition due to different scales and models of agricultural production are among the biggest threats for our domestic economy posed by this deal. Market failure due to agribusiness market concentration is another.”
Luke Ming Flanagan also opposed CETA, particularly the level of beef access, saying: “The 55,000t quota could equate to the high-value cuts of approximately 800,000 head of cattle; to put this in context, Ireland’s weekly kill is about 30,000 head. Imports of this magnitude will decimate our beef industry.” Marian Harkin explained her decision to oppose CETA as being guided by responses she received from farm organisations that raised concern about beef access and the EU’s Cumulative Impact Assessment on trade deals, which highlighted the negative effect on beef.
What CETA means for Irish farmers
CETA will remove tariffs on 92% of goods and services traded between the EU and Canada. It also provides for the mutual recognition of certification for a wide range of products which means that beef produced in Ireland, complying with EU standards, will be accepted in Canada. The significant products from a farming perspective that are excluded from the deal are poultry, dairy and eggs.
Canada is thought by the Irish agricultural industry to have some market potential and it is the key North American market for Australia and New Zealand after the US.
With the negative effect of Brexit, particularly on the Irish beef sector, the potential to do business with other markets is welcome. The big question, however, is just how significant will granting Canada access to the EU market for 50,000t be. This has caused concern among the farming organisations with the IFA taking the position that the EU market cannot carry all the beef it currently has, never mind a further 50,000t. Those in favour of the agreement say that 50,000t is relatively low given that Brazil’s ask in Mercosur discussions was reported to be 150,000t. A further reassurance from those in favour of the deal is that Canadian access to the EU beef market is limited to hormone-free beef only.
Read more
Full coverage: CETA
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