September 29, 2014
Canada, EU concludes trade agreement on beef
Canada and the European Union (EU) have signed a declaration concluding the negotiations for a free trade agreement on beef.
The declaration follows the historic agreement-in-principle for a Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) reached last October and means the complete text will commence the ratification process in both Europe and Canada.
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA) President Dave Solverson thanked Prime Minister Stephen Harper, International Trade Minister Ed Fast and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz for their commitment to move the agreement forward. Once ratified and implemented, the CETA will provide new duty-free access for 64,950 tonnes of Canadian beef valued at nearly CAD$600 million (US$537 million) annually, with the major share of the quota specially reserved for Canada.
"The CCA would like to see the same unanimous endorsement from all the provinces and territories that the agreement-in-principle received last fall," Solverson said.
The agreement has been hailed as a game changer for Canada's beef industry, as the removal of longstanding barriers in this agreement, such as high tariffs, enables Canadian beef producers to benefit from the high value that the European beef market represents.
The CCA has been working on the CETA from the outset of negotiations in 2009, engaging with the Canadian negotiating team and conducting advocacy with key EU and Member State officials and industry representatives.
Of the 64,950 tonnes of duty-free access beef, 50,000 tonnes, consisting of 35,000 tonnes of fresh/chilled beef and 15,000 tonnes of frozen beef, are reserved for Canada. Additionally, Canada will see the 20% duty on the existing 14,950 tonne Hilton quota shared with the US immediately removed. Canada will also continue to have access to the existing shared duty free quota for high quality grain-fed beef. Combined with the new access, there is a potential to reach more than 100,000 tonnes per year of duty free access for Canadian beef. Additionally, all live cattle, genetics and most beef offals and processed beef products will benefit from immediate unlimited duty free access.