East Midlands MEP welcomes historic EU-Canada trade deal

East Midlands Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin has today warmly welcomed the conclusion of the EU-Canada negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). A deal is expected today. This comes after four years of hard work on this agreement following the launch of negotiations in May 2009.

Miss McClarkin appreciates the hard work and effort of the negotiators, especially Mauro Petriccione, the EU Chief Negotiator, and his Canadian opposite number Steve Verheul, for achieving such an ambitious and comprehensive deal.

Miss McClarkin, who is a member of both the EU-Canada delegation and the International Trade Committee, said:

“I am pleased these negotiations have finally come to a conclusion.

“When you realise that the value of bilateral trade in goods between the EU and Canada was €61.8 billion in 2012, the huge potential which exists for this agreement to boost economies on both sides of the Atlantic is obvious. Access to Canadian public procurement is potentially a huge boost the UK and the rest of Europe.

“As long ago as 2008 a report put overall potential income gains at €11.6 billion for the EU and €8.2 billion for Canada. This is great news for the economies of Canada, the EU and the UK.”