No Deal (Yet) on Canada - EU Trade Agreement |
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Friday November 23, 2012
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Canada's International Trade Minister Ed Fast traveled to Brussels
this week hoping to secure a deal on the Canada - EU Trade
Agreement. It looks like he'll be coming home empty handed as
the EU has issued a release
indicating that there are still gaps on key issues. The EU's take on
the talks: Commissioner De Gucht and Minister Fast had in-depth discussions on the trade deal and made substantial progress. Both sides will now instruct their negotiators to narrow the gaps on the outstanding issues, aiming for a deal in the coming weeks. "I am pleased that our meeting at a political level has provided the momentum needed to spur on the negotiations into the home strait. It's clear that there has been significant progress but some important work remains to be done", stated Commissioner De Gucht. 
Both Commissioner De Gucht and Minister Fast decided to meet again very shortly and to continue discussions until an agreement is reached. That is a far cry from a done deal with more "work to be done" and the agreement going back to the negotiators for more talks. |