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At last, the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is set to be formally signed today. The deal went through a roller-coaster. Opposition from many corners — essentially from Belgian’s Wallonia region — to the agreement threw up daunting challenges for the EU. It put at stake the bloc’s credibility as a union. Now that the deal is almost done, CETA should be aptly showcased as EU’s resilience in the face of hurdles. It should help in clearing the decks for other treaties that are in limbo.
CETA must also be a lesson for the EU and Canada that all trade agreements have to be structured in a way that they bring out win-win results. The deals should not fuel a sense of mistrust and all clauses have to be transparent.
CETA would link the EU market of 500 million people with world’s 10th largest economy. It will boost trade in goods and services between Europe and Canada by over 20 percent and the total EU GDP by €12billion annually.
The criticism that CETA is anti-consumer and titled towards businessmen has to be tackled by sensitizing the people and plugging all loopholes that trigger such gaps. All clauses that relate to people’s health safety and environmental standards need to be addressed properly.
There are two more pacts which are gasping: EU-US Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the EU-Ukraine treaty. TTIP needs to be repackaged to be salvaged. Any trade deal that gives freehand to corporates to force governments to change laws will stay stuck in a logjam. The EU-Ukraine deal should also be amended in a way that it finds favour with the Dutch. It is only the Netherlands — among the 28 members in the EU group — that has refused to ratify the accord after the April 6 referendum. While making alterations, the
EU-Ukraine deal can be put up for reconsideration and another Dutch vote conducted with better participation of voters.
The passage of CETA, TTIP and EU-Ukraine deals would open trade doors and augur well for the world economy. Today, the need for economic openness is more urgent than ever before. Trade integration is the key towards global development. It is crucial that the bilateral business agreements usher in large-scale liberalized trade zones and reduce the tariff and non-tariff barriers. These pacts must create free markets that generate jobs and boost welfare of the society at large.
Most European nations are reeling under economic stagnation. EU’s international standing — after the shock Brexit decision — can improve only when the bloc comes together and strikes a chord of solidarity amid the growing anti-globalization din. Those harbouring protectionism sentiments will come around when they realize their vulnerability in front of the strong united power of the EU.
Bringing about fairness and harmonizing of standards should be the cornerstone of any trade agreement. No relationship can evolve in a climate of distrust. With a dose of faith and flexibility, the dragged-out pacts can pass the test. CETA has proved this. It needed marathon sessions to convince its opponents, but in the end the deal broke deadlock and the success is for all to see. Its results will be felt in the long-run. Policy makers must realize that an isolationist attitude is destructive and the need of the hour is to make regulations that encourage world economies to embrace trade policies that are liberal and transparent.