2. On February 29, 2016, Canada and the EU announced that a final, legally reviewed CETA text had been completed, marking an important step in bringing the agreement into force. The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, also known as CETA, will create vast new opportunities across the EU and Canada, opening new markets for our exporters and forging closer links between our economies.
CETA encompasses the full range of factors that now shape trade in the global economy: liberalization in the trade of goods and services, comprehensive and balanced protection for intellectual property, access to procurement opportunities at all levels of government, cooperation on regulations and product standards, support for sustainable development, the list goes on. As a result, CETA sets the new, gold standard for trade agreements of the 21st century.
When CETA comes into force, it will be the most comprehensive agreement ever between the EU and an FTA-partner country.
Before embarking on the negotiations, Canada and the EU completed a joint study to assess its potential benefits. The study revealed that CETA could deliver a 20% boost in bilateral trade and a €11.6 billion annual increase to the EU economy. These are significant benefits, coming at an important time for all those with a stake in securing stable and expanded growth across the European economy.
After the US, the EU is Canada's largest trading partner, our most important source of foreign direct investment, and the largest recipient of Canadian direct investment abroad. Canada is the EU's 12th largest trading partner. And in 2013, Canada was the fourth largest source of foreign direct investment in the EU, after the U.S., Switzerland and Japan.

3. Canada and the European Union (EU) announced the completion of the legal verification of the CETA English text on February 29, 2016.
Thereafter, Canada and the EU translated the agreement into French and the other 21 EU treaty languages.
Following translation, the process required to approve the agreement in Canada and the EU along with the steps necessary to bring policies, regulations and legislation into conformity with the obligations under CETA will begin.
CETA was signed last on October 30, 2016
Now that CETA is signed, what are the next steps?
For Canada, this will require the passage of implementing legislation, as well as bringing all regulations and policies into compliance with our commitments under CETA.
On October 31st, the Government introduced the CETA implementing legislation in the House of Commons.
Canada and the EU will notify one another through an exchange of diplomatic notes once their respective internal procedures have been completed and each side is prepared to provisionally apply CETA. We expect this to be completed in early 2017.

5. Current tariffs result in a significant price hike on many of the products being traded across our borders, lowering their market competitiveness.
The day CETA comes into force, approximately 98 percent of the goods exchanged between Canada and the EU will be duty-free. While almost all tariffs will be eliminated when CETA comes into force, 1 percent will be eliminated gradually within 3, 5 or 7 years.
Once CETA is fully implemented, approximately 99 percent of tariff lines will be duty-free.
Comprehensive tariff elimination means that CETA will create new opportunities for EU businesses looking to increase their exports to Canada, tapping into important North American value chains. The agreement will liberalize trade for a number of significant EU exports, including machinery and equipment, chemicals and plastics, and motor vehicles.

6. CETA responds to a key EU objective in advancing exports to Canada: access to sub-federal government procurement.
CETA will expand access beyond any agreement previously negotiated by Canada, opening up new opportunities at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Reciprocal commitments by the EU mean that Canada’s world class suppliers will be able to offer competitive products and services to member state governments across the EU, including at the sub-national level.
Canada has also provided, for the first time in any trade agreement, coverage on mass transit procurement, as well as procurements by major energy entities across Canada. This includes commitments by all Canadian provinces and territories with major energy-production and distribution capacity. At the same time, the agreement will ensure that public utilities, energy-related and otherwise, remain free to deliver their services and rely on their own resources to meet their mandate. Nothing in CETA will force public utilities to tender contracts for goods and services they wish to supply from their own resources.

7. The services sector is responsible for the majority of economic activity in both Canada and the EU – over 70% in both cases. In recognition of the crucial contribution of this sector to our economies, we have negotiated a services chapter in CETA that is truly the first in its class.
Negative list approach
For the first time, provincial and territorial governments, including EU member states used a negative list approach, meaning that all services sectors are subject to CETA obligations unless explicitly listed as reservations in the Annexes. 
A ratchet provision ensures that any future regulatory or legal changes which make it easier for service suppliers from one Party to access the other Party’s market will automatically be locked-in under CETA and therefore cannot subsequently be made more restrictive. In other words, the liberalization would become the new obligation under CETA.
Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) Treatment
Under the MFN provision, each Party must treat service suppliers of the other party no less favourable than it treats service suppliers of any other country. This means that if Canada offers better treatment to another country under an FTA, the EU would automatically receive the same treatment; and vice versa.
Temporary Entry
The scope is the best provided by either Canada or the EU in any FTA, and positions Canada and the EU to create a wealth of new opportunities for architects and engineers, business managers, computer and IT professionals, and a whole host of others.
Ensuring the ability of these service providers and other business persons to move across our borders is essential to their ability to reap the rewards of this comprehensive agreement. Accordingly, CETA will contain provisions on temporary entry, which will facilitate the movement of contract service suppliers, investors, independent professionals, and business visitors alike.
Recognition of Professional Qualifications Canada and the EU also negotiated commitments on the recognition of professional qualifications. Once into force CETA will establish a streamlined process for the recognition of foreign qualifications in certain sectors, and a detailed framework through which regulators or professional organizations may negotiate mutual recognition agreements for other professions.
Domestic Regulation
CETA also contains robust provisions on domestic regulation which requires that Canada and the EU base domestic licensing and qualification decisions on simple, clear, publicly available, reasonable and impartial criteria. This increased transparency will make it easier for service providers to understand the rules on both sides, improving the information available to companies to help them do business in that market.
Finally, it is important to note that none of the labour mobility provisions of CETA will displace permanent jobs in Canada or the EU. Instead, the agreement commits Canada and the EU to a range of measures designed to enhance the ability of our business persons to move across our borders.

8. CETA establishes a framework for Canada and the EU to build on our already substantial investment ties. In 2014, the stock of known Canadian direct investment in the EU was valued at more than166 billion CAD (€118 billion), representing 20% of Canadian direct investment abroad. The same year, the stock of known EU direct investment in Canada was valued at more than 215 billion CAD (€ 153 billion), representing close to 30% of total foreign investment in Canada. *(Source: Statistics Canada)*  
Canada’s economic fundamentals and relative cost advantages provide a first-rate business environment for European investors seeking to enter the North American market. The Economist Intelligence Unit says Canada is the best country among the G-7 in which to do business over the five year period: Canada is also the easiest place to start a business in the G-7, according to the World Bank.
CETA’s investment rules will set out how investors and their investments must be treated by the host country. At the heart of these rules are commitments to treat investors and investments fairly, equitably and no less favourably than domestic or other foreign investors. Governments in the EU are already familiar with this approach to investment agreements, which provide investors and their investments with greater certainty, stability, transparency and protection.
At the same time, the agreement fully protects and defends the rights of governments to regulate in the public interest. There will be no restriction on any level of government – either in the EU or Canada - from legitimately legislating in the public interest, and measures designed to protect public health, the environment, or public safety will not be affected.