AFP, Brussels :
A landmark free trade deal linking EU and Canada went into effect on Thursday despite lingering opposition from activists worried about the pact’s consequences on the environment and health.
The EU is hailing the deal as one of its most ambitious ever that will set a new standard for future deals, including with Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Observers have said the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) could set a model for future ties between Britain and the EU after Brexit.
The EU and Canada formally signed the landmark free trade deal, which was seven years in the making, in October last year after overcoming last-minute resistance from a small Belgian region that nearly torpedoed the entire agreement.
“This agreement encapsulates what we want our trade policy to be-an instrument for growth that benefits European companies and citizens,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement.
However, it is “also a tool to project our values, harness globalisation and shape global trade rules,” he added.
CETA has been implemented on a provisional basis pending approval by the EU’s more than 30 national and regional parliaments, which could take years. The pact affects 510 million European consumers and 35 million Canadians and even provisionally, eliminated customs duties between Europe and Canada on 98 percent of products as of Thursday
A landmark free trade deal linking EU and Canada went into effect on Thursday despite lingering opposition from activists worried about the pact’s consequences on the environment and health.
The EU is hailing the deal as one of its most ambitious ever that will set a new standard for future deals, including with Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Observers have said the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) could set a model for future ties between Britain and the EU after Brexit.
The EU and Canada formally signed the landmark free trade deal, which was seven years in the making, in October last year after overcoming last-minute resistance from a small Belgian region that nearly torpedoed the entire agreement.
“This agreement encapsulates what we want our trade policy to be-an instrument for growth that benefits European companies and citizens,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement.
However, it is “also a tool to project our values, harness globalisation and shape global trade rules,” he added.
CETA has been implemented on a provisional basis pending approval by the EU’s more than 30 national and regional parliaments, which could take years. The pact affects 510 million European consumers and 35 million Canadians and even provisionally, eliminated customs duties between Europe and Canada on 98 percent of products as of Thursday
