Canada and the European Union are in trade talks in Brussels
this week, trying to reach compromises on a short list of outstanding issues.
Trade Minister Ed Fast told a House of Commons committee
that the negotiators are making excellent progress, finding creative ways to
deal with the final issues.
But the talks that began in 2009 and were to reach a deal by
2011 have hit snags, including reluctance to open the Canadian cheese market to
more imports and European reluctance to open more pork and beef markets.
The European Union and the United States are on the verge of
launching their trade talks and some analysts say that will distract the
Europeans from working on the Canadian deal.
