HOW ARE THINGS GOING IN EUROPE?

It has now been more than a year since the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union came into force. Last week, a joint committee of officials met in Montreal to discuss how things are going. Jason Langrish, executive director of the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business, was there. “It’s a very easy relationship. It’s the complete opposite of what we have with the United States right now, so in that regard it’s a good thing,” he said. So far, European companies have been more aggressive in taking advantage of the deal, he said, but it’s still early days.

Although USMCA doesn’t necessarily have much impact on CETA, the “non-market” clause could change the calculus when Canadian companies look to the east or west. “I think it reinforces Europe’s position as the fallback, because China’s been kind of taken out of the equation with this new deal,” Langrish said.