The Canadian Federation of
Agriculture is congratulating Canadian negotiators for their role leading up to
the signing of a free trade agreement with the European Union.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed
the deal Sunday, but cautioned that many details remain to be negotiated, plus parliamentary
ratifications by all nations involved in the deal.
“This is a very positive step that
could allow Canadian agricultural exporters to capture significant business
opportunities throughout the EU's 28 member countries, representing access to
more than 500 million consumers,” the Canadian Federation of Agriculture said
in a news release.
“CFA is supportive of the deal,
provided that:
* Agricultural
exporters can take full advantage of the market access concessions that were
negotiated;
* Safeguards
guaranteed to farmers in Belgium do not impede new market access for Canadian
farmers;
* The federal
government fully mitigate CETA's impact to the Canadian dairy industry as a
result of the EU's new access that allows it to sell 17,000 tonnes of cheese
into the Canadian market.”
The CFA says “farm leaders urge the
government to clarify its position on these points while CETA moves through the
steps toward ratification in Canadian and EU members' legislatures over the
coming months.
“CFA calls for the government to
continue its support for balanced trade approach that strengthens and supports
all of the commodities that make up Canada's diverse agricultural sector."
Now doesn't that all add up to a mealy-mouthed bunch of mug-wumping!
