Fast ‘absolutely confident’ of EU trade deal
Canada was blamed for missed deadlines
Trade Minister Ed Fast is shooting down European claims that the federal government’s stalling prevented a trade deal from coming together as early as last February, saying he remains convinced the two sides will eventually reach an agreement.
In an interview Friday prior to an expected cabinet shuffle next week, Fast said negotiators
Fast insisted the government will not bend to political pressure on what he calls artificial deadlines.
were in touch this week and are expected to meet face to face shortly to work out a short list of unresolved issues.
Last week, EU ambassador Matthias Brinkmann blamed Canada for the protracted nature of the talks that have involved several missed deadlines, including during last month’s G8 summit in Ireland. Canada’s quota demands for beef exports remained a sticking point after Europe made a generous offer, Brinkmann said.
The statement was seen as an effort by Europe to pressure Canada at a time when the EU is shifting its attention and resources to the higher-stakes talks with the U.S., which got underway this week.
“I’m sure Mr. Brinkmann would have been happy with the deal in February, because it would have been in the EU’s favour, but what was on the table was not in Canada’s interest and we will not sign that kind of agreement,” Fast said.
Since February, the two sides have come closer together on a number of issues, he added, suggesting that the deal’s state of play is now closer to Canada’s liking.
Fast said he does not believe the European-U.S. free trade talks will sideline Canada. Given how close the two sides are, Canada is dealing with only a handful of European negotiators, a spokesman for his office said.
“We have every indication that the European Union negotiators remain 100 per cent committed to concluding their negotiations with Canada,” he said.
“I’m absolutely confident that at the end of the day we’ll be able to come up with an agreement that is clearly in Canada’s best long-term interest.”
Still, observers say the entry of Washington has complicated the process, not only in terms of logistics and European motivation, but also because any concession the EU makes to Canada, it likely will have to make tenfold to the U.S.
International Chamber of Commerce secretary general Jean-Guy Carrier noted he hasn’t witnessed a major trade deal in more than a decade, and given the current difficulties in the Canada-EU talks, he is not convinced there’s a good outcome down the road.
“Under current circumstances, I think it’s not very promising,” said Carrier.
One side will have to make further concessions to serve the greater interest of getting a deal, he said, suggesting Prime Minister Stephen Harper might want to consider blinking first.
“It seems to me if Canada went ahead and was able to reconcile some of the differences with Europe, this would be a tremendous sign of leadership in terms of trade negotiations,” he said.