EU-Canada free trade deal signed

Negotiations on the CETA deal took five years and were concluded in 2014.

The agreement envisages doing away with practically all tariffs between European Union countries and Canada as well as liberalizing trade in services.

Its proponents have been pointing to benefits such as fresh opportunities for GDP growth and creating new openings for increased employment.

The head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, described CETA as a modern solution.

“This is an important day for the EU and Canada too, because we are setting international standards which will have to be followed by others,” he said.

Poland has been generally supporting CETA. However, certain doubts have been voiced about international investment arbitration and the flow of lower-standard agricultural produce from Canada, which has been criticized by the Polish farming sector.

The document sealing the CETA deal still needs ratification by all EU members.

(ss/pk)