Canada-EU trade proposal rivals scope of NAFTA
Plan to lift barriers for goods and labour to be discussed at summit after election
Globe and Mail
September 18, 2008
Doug Saunders
LONDON — Canadian and European officials say they plan to begin negotiating a massive agreement to integrate Canada's economy with the 27 nations of the European Union, with preliminary talks to be launched at an Oct. 17 summit in Montreal three days after the federal election.
Trade Minister Michael Fortier and his staff have been engaged for the past two months with EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and the representatives of European governments in an effort to begin what a senior EU official involved in the talks described in an interview yesterday as “deep economic integration negotiations.”
If successful, Canada would be the first developed nation to have open trade relations with the EU, which has completely open borders between its members but imposes steep trade and investment barriers on outsiders...
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What does everybody reckon? I believe this is a very sustainable move. Financially, it opens up a large pool of investment and incredibly huge market. Socially, it provides the opportunity for the influence of another culture. Environmentally, European countries are a lot more progressive and environmentally-minded which might put some pressure on us. I really hope this goes through.