Getting a deal in Canada-European Union free trade talks will not be a question of trading supply management protection for meat export access in Europe, says Canada’s chief negotiator.
Steve Verheul, who once was Canada’s top agriculture negotiator at World Trade Organization talks, told the House of Commons trade committee last week that substantial agricultural texts have not yet been exchanged.
However, he said that while significant differences remain or have not yet been negotiated, both sides insist they want a deal by the end of this year.
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The next negotiation is in Brussels next month.
The EU has made it clear it wants better access in Canada for European cheese, but Verheul said Canada does not see meat access to Europe as a trade-off against European designs on Canada’s dairy market.
“We’re responding to the EU’s most offensive issue, which is government procurement,” he said.
“We’re going a considerable way on issues related to intellectual property that are also of concern to them, and we’re expecting the balance to be achieved through the achievement of greater market access for us when it comes to those types of products, including beef and pork.”
Later, he said the Conservative government has remained clear in its instruction to negotiators in the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with the EU that supply management protection for dairy, chicken and eggs are not on the table for compromise.
“Certainly within the CETA negotiation, there will be no threat to the system of supply management,” he said. “It remains as it is now. I’ve seen no flexibility on that issue with respect to any agreements.”
As one of the most sensitive issues in any trade negotiation, agriculture is usually one of the last topics raised and often in the end is sidelined because of its domestic political sensitivities on all sides.
Verheul said negotiator instructions have not changed.
“We’ve consistently protected supply management throughout all of our international trade agreements,” he said.
At the end of April, EU ambassador to Canada Matthias Brinkmann told Ottawa journalists that there is a clear link in the negotiations between prairie beef and pork exporter hopes for better European access and Europe’s interest in the Canadian cheese market.
“It’s the overall balance which is important,” Brinkmann said.
“For the Prairies, the beef issue is a big one and there will be no deal without dairy. It’s almost a foregone conclusion.”
