Canada-EU trade deal dead
OTTAWA — About two months ago, when the ink had dried on the 1,600 pages of the Canada-EU free trade deal, two politicians decided another document – a mere five pages – would be necessary to tie up any loose ends.
Sources say it was those five pages, and not the deal itself, that proved pivotal Friday as last-ditch talks in the European Commission collapsed, with the holdout Belgian region of Wallonia refusing to end its blockade of the long-sought deal.
A dejected-looking International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland walked out on the talks in Brussels, her tone and her words suggesting the deal was all but dead.
“It is now evident to me – evident to Canada – that the European Union is incapable of reaching an agreement, even with a country with European values such as Canada, even with a country as nice and as patient as Canada,” she said in French, her voice breaking.
“Canada is disappointed and I personally am disappointed, but I think it’s impossible. We are returning home. At least I will see my three children tomorrow at our home.”
It was Freeland herself and German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel who pushed for the creation and adoption of the document at the heart of the impasse, five pages that became known as the “Joint Interpretative Declaration.”
It was aimed at critics of the deal known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, including left-leaning politicians in Europe as well as the clamouring anti-trade civil society movement, as an “unambiguous statement” to assuage concerns over “provisions that have been the object of public debate and concerns.”
Sources say the deal itself was not open to renegotiation, but the interpretative declaration was fair game.
In the end, that wasn’t enough for Paul Magnette, Wallonia’s president, to keep the agreement from ripping apart at the seams.
In the hours leading up to Freeland’s explosive exit, sources – speaking under condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks – told The Canadian Press that Magnette was determined to re-open the text of the agreement itself and renegotiate the details of specific Canadian agricultural products that would be allowed into the EU.
A source said that the work already done in entrenching the tariffs and quotas attached to specific brands of cheese and meat in the agreement itself simply could not be unravelled at such a late stage.
In recent days, Magnette also expanded the scope of his earlier concerns – protecting his tiny Belgium region’s farmers from larger interests – to take on the newly configured investor-state dispute resolution mechanism. He said “difficulties remain” in the talks, notably the politically sensitive issue of how multinational corporations could challenge states under the deal.
Magnette said Friday the talks would continue, but suggested any deal might not be ready in time for a planned visit to Brussels next week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With the deal in peril, Trudeau has held back from announcing whether he will attend the Oct. 27 Canada-EU summit.