A Protectionist Bargain?: Agriculture in the European Union—Canada Trade Agreement

Abstract

The EU and Canada have been negotiating a preferential trade agreement - the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) - since 2009.The negotiations have been conducted in strict secrecy with an agreement only reached in late September 2014.This was the first time the text of the agreement was made public. This article examines those parts of the text of the agreement which pertain to agri-food trade. The facets of the agreement examined include those that directly affect agriculture - tariffs, TRQs, subsidies, safeguards and rules of origin - as well as other facets of the agreement that indirectly affect agriculture - pricing of wines, geographical indications, environment, sustainability, anti-dumping. The general conclusion is that little in the way of agricultural trade liberalization was achieved and protectionist interests were maintained.