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Implementation of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)

TA-9-2024-0026 · P9_TA(2024)0026 · PE753.671

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 26 Sept 2026

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Parliament's resolution reviews how the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been implemented since it was provisionally applied on 21 September 2017. It notes growth in goods, services and agri-food trade, more jobs supported by EU exports to Canada, and rising use of tariff preferences, while flagging low use of some quotas and unresolved meat traceability issues. It calls for stronger sustainable development, animal welfare, geographical indication and precautionary principle safeguards, and for cooperation on critical raw materials, climate, digital trade and gender. It asks the ten member states that have not yet ratified CETA to do so, and calls for a review after ratification to add enforcement for trade and sustainable development, including sanctions as a last resort.

Key points

  1. Parliament finds CETA builds a rules- and values-based relationship, but says it must further strengthen sustainable development, human and labour rights and climate protection.
  2. It notes EU-Canada goods trade rose 66% between 2016 and 2022 and services trade 46%, with EU agri-food exports up 62% and imports up 52% since provisional application.
  3. It says CETA trade proved resilient during the pandemic and Russia's war against Ukraine, and should help cooperation in Ukraine's reconstruction once the war is over.
  4. It welcomes job gains, with jobs supported by EU exports to Canada rising from 624 000 in 2017 to more than 700 000 in 2021, and backs labour mobility and the architects' mutual recognition agreement.
  5. It highlights critical raw materials cooperation under the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership, saying extraction must respect environmental standards and labour, human and indigenous peoples' rights.
  6. It notes preference use rose to 60% for both sides in 2022, but low use in key sectors means foregone savings, and calls for awareness-raising through the Access2Markets platform.
  7. It notes Canada has not satisfactorily implemented audit recommendations on beef and pork traceability, and calls for progress on export certificates, meat inspection recognition and regionalisation.
  8. It calls for animal welfare safeguards and possible mirror clauses, protection of outermost regions' interests, and allocation of tariffs and quotas to operators registered there.
  9. It seeks a more transparent and flexible Canadian dairy quota system, better enforcement of EU geographical indications, and more SME support including a possible dedicated SME chapter.
  10. It welcomes the Trade and Gender recommendation and calls for gender-disaggregated data, equal sharing of benefits, and cooperation between social and solidarity economy actors.
  11. It calls for the precautionary principle to be upheld, and for cooperation on climate, carbon methodologies, digital trade, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
  12. It urges Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia to ratify CETA, and calls for a post-ratification review with sanctions as a last resort for serious breaches of trade and sustainable development rules.

Who is affected

  • EU and Canadian businesses, especially SMEs, which gain from preferences, procurement access and support tools.
  • EU farmers and agri-food exporters, affected by quotas, standards and geographical indication protection.
  • Ten member states that have not ratified CETA: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia.
  • Outermost regions, whose operators should receive part of tariffs and tariff-rate quotas.
  • Workers, women and indigenous peoples, whose rights and economic participation the resolution addresses.

Figures and deadlines

  • CETA has been provisionally applied since 21 September 2017.
  • EU-Canada trade in goods increased by 66% between 2016 and 2022; services trade by 46%.
  • EU agri-food exports to Canada rose 62% and imports from Canada 52% since provisional application.
  • Jobs supported by EU exports to Canada rose from 624 000 in 2017 to more than 700 000 in 2021.
  • Preference utilisation rates stood at 60% for both the EU and Canada in 2022, compared to 40% and 52% in 2018.
  • The tariff rate quota utilisation rate for beef and veal imports to the EU was 3% in 2021.
  • The tariff rate quota utilisation rate for EU cheese exports stands at 98% on average.
  • EU exports to and imports from Canada in services grew by 54% and 74% over the first six years of provisional application.