Thank you very much, and thank you for the invitation to appear before you today.
I’m going to start by providing you with some context for these negotiations. Then I'll outline some of the key steps in the negotiations and the timelines going forward, and finally I'll provide you with a brief overview of some of the key issues under the negotiations.
First of all, the successful negotiation of a high-quality, ambitious agreement with the EU is a key priority for the Government of Canada. These negotiations represent a significant opportunity. A CETA would provide us with preferential access to the largest market in the world. The EU, made up of some 27 member states with a total population of nearly 500 million and a GDP of over $19 trillion Canadian, is already our second-largest trading partner. We have many historical, economic, and cultural ties with the EU, so the EU is an obvious trading partner for Canada.
Canada has been interested in a free trade negotiation with the EU for a very long time, and convincing the EU to negotiate a trade agreement with Canada was a long process. It involved extensive advocacy by Canadian political leaders and government officials and a great effort by the private sector. In the end, we were able to convince the EU that Canada was prepared to negotiate an ambitious agreement, and negotiations toward a CETA were officially launched in Prague at the May 2009 Canada-EU summit. At the summit, leaders agreed that we would aim for a high level of ambition in the negotiations. They also agreed that we would aim to complete the negotiations within a very short timeframe, within two years.
For Canada, this is by far the biggest free trade negotiation we have undertaken since the Canada-U.S. Free Trade agreement, which has been in place for more than 20 years, along with the NAFTA that came after it. In the CETA negotiations we are aiming to go further than we went in the NAFTA negotiations, both with respect to the range of issues to be covered and with respect to the depth of ambition. On the part of the EU, they too are aiming to go further than they have gone in any previous free trade agreement.
We are expecting an agreement with the EU to deliver benefits across many sectors, including industrial products such as wood, chemicals, plastics, aluminum, and autos and auto parts, as well as fish and seafood and agricultural products. We are also expecting significant benefits in areas of services and investment, such as energy, construction, engineering, information and communication technology, research and development, environment, and many others.
With regard to the timelines, we began the negotiations, as I mentioned, on May 6, 2009, and we've had three formal rounds of negotiations since then. The first was last October, and we've had two this year, one in January and one in April. We're holding two more rounds of negotiations in the coming months, one in July and one in October, and after that we will take stock to assess progress and plan the next steps in the negotiations. The view from both sides, from both Canada and the European Union, is that we have made very good progress in the negotiations so far, and we're aiming to complete the negotiations next year, in 2011.
One of the unique aspects of this negotiation is that because there is a strong EU interest in areas under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, provinces and territories are very closely involved in the negotiations. This involvement includes participating in negotiating rooms on issues under their jurisdiction. We have had between 40 and 60 provincial and territorial representatives at each of the negotiating rounds, and we have been meeting with them frequently, as we are this week in Vancouver. We also meet with them on the eve of every round as well as at the close of each day of negotiations. While this has been a complex and challenging process, it has generally gone well.
As far as more specific progress in the negotiations is concerned, we have been moving at a fast pace. In terms of text, we have a consolidated text covering all 22 areas of the negotiations. We've had that since last fall, and we have already completed or parked a number of chapters in the agreement.
We have also exchanged initial offers on goods, which would have 90% of all tariffs going to duty free immediately upon implementation of the agreement, which is a very aggressive initial offer, and we have exchanged detailed requests on government procurement, services, and investment.
I'll now highlight some of the key issues in the negotiations so far.
Government procurement is an important priority for the EU, particularly at the sub-federal level. It will be important for us to put a high level of ambition on the table on procurement, as this will, to some extent, set the level of ambition in other areas. We are working closely with the provinces and territories to ensure this happens.
On services and investment, we are pressing the EU to adopt the more ambitious approach of a negative list, which means everything is captured by the commitments in these areas except for specific exceptions.
This is the approach we have used in all our agreements, including the NAFTA, but the EU has never used this approach, relying instead on a positive approach, which involves taking commitments only in a specified list of areas.
We are also pressing the EU to go further in the area of labour mobility, both in easing the temporary entry of business people and professionals and in facilitating mutual recognition of qualifications to allow easier movement of professionals back and forth.
In the area of goods, the remaining 10% of tariffs that we have not made offers on yet will involve some sensitivities, including some with respect to agriculture on both sides, and for fish for the EU.
As part of the discussions on trade in goods, we are paying particular attention to non-tariff barriers, especially in the area of regulatory standards. Bridging gaps between EU standards and our standards--whether on a North American basis, a Canadian basis, or a provincial and territorial basis--will be essential to the free flow of goods between our two markets. We have already made significant advances in the area of regulatory cooperation, and we will have a chapter on this issue for the first time in any free trade agreement.
Intellectual property is also an important area, as the EU has been pressing us on copyright protection and enforcement and on the protection of geographical indications for some foodstuffs. The copyright bill tabled by the government a couple of weeks ago is likely to help us advance on some of these issues.
These are the main areas of focus overall, although we are looking to set high standards across the board, including in environment, labour, dispute settlement, areas of cooperation, and many more. We will be continuing to press forward with the negotiations as quickly as we can, while ensuring that we maintain a high level of ambition throughout all areas.
Thank you for your attention. I would be pleased to answer any questions you might have.