The Canada-European Union free trade agreement (officially known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) will loosen some restrictions on trade for both parties. Canadians can expect a bit more French cheese on market shelves.
But the issues are complicated for agricultural industries in Canada and Europe, which are both heavily subsidized by governments.
Big dairy companies in Quebec are worried about European cheeses overriding their market—and with good reason. Some regions in Europe are so renowned for their food they have rights over their names (think champagne and feta).
In the EU, cheese produced outside of Parma can’t be called Parmesan—a regulation that doesn’t exist here. Instead, trademark law guides Canadian products, like Maple Leaf’s Parma ham.
The new trade agreement won’t take away from Canadian producers already using these regional names. However, it will force new cheese makers to call their products “feta-style” or even parmesan but not parmigiano-reggiano.
Amy Verdun, an expert on European policy from the University of Victoria, says this might not hurt local dairy producers in places like Quebec as much as they think. It’s expected the amount of cheese imported from the EU will rise from five per cent to nine per cent.
But in a world where buying local is becoming increasingly important, local producers are still in demand. “It offers smaller farmers the opportunity to produce differently and in tune with local consumers,” Verdun said. “They could even be a little more expensive and people would be happy to buy it.”
The Canada-EU agreement doesn’t come without other faults—issues like public procurement and controversial conflict resolution courts are another discussion altogether—but this time Canada has the chance to help define a new kind of free trade and avoid repeating the mistakes of the North
American Free Trade Agreement, which devastated Mexico’s vulnerable economy.
“Because of the changes in investment laws, issues around safety standards and tariffs, you had a situation where a lot of the feed was being produced in the United States, pork was being raised in Mexico, cattle in Canada and then they ship it back to the United States for slaughtering,” said Karen Hansen Kuhn of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy earlier this year.
“All of this was facilitated by NAFTA, so in the process the bargaining power of farmers goes down a lot.”
Cooperating with Europe can force Canada to ease off its dependency on the US, which buys most of Canada’s products.
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