The Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) provisionally came into effect five years ago, on September 21, 2017.
Most of the economically significant parts of the agreement – including tariff reductions, quotas, service commitments, temporary entry commitments and government procurement obligations – have been applied.
Since then Canadian merchandise exports to the EU and merchandise imports from the EU rose substantially. The European Union is one of the largest economies in the world and Canada’s second-largest trading partner.
The remaining point of contention for CETA in European public opinion is the investor dispute settlement system where corporations can sue governments if they feel their revenues have been affected by laws or regulations.
The Agreement is expected to come into full effect when all EU Member States have completed the ratification process. So far, 16 of 27 EU Member States have ratified CETA.