Few concessions in EU deal
By Lorne Gunter <http://www.edmontonsun.com/author/lorne-gunter> ,QMI Agency
First posted: Saturday, August 18, 2012 08:14 PM MDT | Updated: Saturday, August 18, 2012 08:23 PM MDT
http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/08/18/few-concessions-in-eu-deal
This week, the federal Tory government scored a major coup on international trade. It managed to win the endorsement of German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union. Chancellor Merkel even agreed to try to bring trade talks to a successful conclusion by the end of the year - a mere eye-blink in diplomatic time.
The bonus for the Tories is that they were able to garner the German leader's support, during her first official bilateral visit to Ottawa this week, without giving up much in return. At least, the Tories didn't have to give up anything they didn't really want to give up.
Merkel even agreed to do her utmost to bring Canada-EU trade talks to a "speedy conclusion" without a corresponding promise from our federal government to contribute to the European bailout being put together by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Other European leaders have attempted to link the two issues. They have not threatened outright to scuttle an agreement if Canada refuses to ante up $1 billion or $2 billion for a bailout. Instead, they have hinted the deal could be back-burnered.
But Chancellor Merkel has agreed to push the deal from her end, even as federal ministers continue to insist there will be no Canadian participation in the IMF stability fund.
This trade coup is doubly impressive given that Canada needs Europe more than Europe needs us.
While Canada and the EU send one another comparable dollar-values in exports each year - we buy around $36 billion in European goods annually, while they buy about $28 billion in Canadian merchandise - Canada consumes less than 2% of Europe's exports, while they consume 10% or more of ours.
It's typically very difficult to get the party that needs the deal less to agree to terms without major strings attached. If there is little in it for them, what's the point? Yet that seems to be precisely what the federal Tory government has succeeded in doing.
Admitted, Merkel is just one of 27 leaders in the EU. Her endorsement does not guarantee the satisfactory conclusion of a Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). But as Europe's biggest trader and strongest economy, Germany has enormous clout within the Union, clout that is at its peak at the moment because so many other European countries are counting on German aid to bailout their failing economies, faltering banks and bankrupt governments.
Critics of the deal have said there are two significant concessions Ottawa has made to the Europeans in return for their signatures on the agreement: a pledge to reconsider supply managed agriculture and a promise to toughen patent protections and intellectual-property rights.
European farmers of dairy products in particular would like easier access to Canadian markets. Their goods are kept out (or at least priced way too high) due to our heavy regulation of many protected agricultural sectors, such as dairy farming.
Additionally, the provinces are upset because a Canada-EU CETA would honour patents, licences and other intellectual products. The effect of this for them would be to make it harder for generic drug makers to poach the formulas of European pharmaceutical companies.
This might raise drug costs in our monopoly health care systems, but it would stop the provinces benefitting from low-cost drug manufacturers who are hijacking other companies' properties.
Keep in mind, though, ending supply management and strengthening patent protections are actually goals the Tories want to achieve, but as yet have lacked the political courage to tackle on their own.
So the Tories have won, even on the items on which they appear to have yielded.
lorne.gun...@sunmedia.ca
