news brief
international trade
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) — Canada and the European Union signed their free trade deal Oct. 30, although it must still clear 40 national and regional parliaments in Europe in the coming years to enter fully into force.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement along with the heads of EU institutions, a step that should enable a provisional implementation of the pact early next year with the removal of most import duties.
French speakers in southern Belgium, a minority within their own small country and accounting for less than one percent of the 508 million EU consumers likely to be affected by CETA, had raised objections that held up the deal until a breakthrough Oct. 27.
