Canada and Europe remain with only agreement in principle on
free trade and the actual finalized deal remains elusive.
There are also reports that the Europeans are busy with
negotiations with the United States, so finalizing a deal with Canada has
become secondary.
Cheese and beef trade are sticking points. According to a
report in the Globe and Mail, it’s the administration of import quotas that
remain at issue.
Canada has issued import permits to those who were importing
before the Uruguay Round of world trade negotiations changed protection from
quotas to tariffs.
Those who hold permits are able to import at much lower
tariff rates.
The permit holders can buy at low world prices and sell in
Canada at high Canadian-market prices, so the permits are valuable.
Whether the increase in low-tariff imports ought to go pro
rata to existing quota holders or to somebody else is a big question for
Canadians.
Dairy farmers would like to hold the import permits, but
that’s almost certain to be opposed by the Europeans.
Other issues yet to be resolved include municipal and
provincial government purchasing policies and the length of patents on drugs
and medications.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be talking to European
leaders while he is visiting for D-Day 70th-anniversary celebrations
and attending the G7 summit in Brussels.
