CETA’s provisional application starts in September

On 21 September 2017, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) will provisionally enter into force. A vast majority of the deal is of exclusive EU competence. Provisions of shared competence between the EU and its member states, such as investment protection, will be excluded from the provisional application pending ratification by all national parliaments and, in some instances, by regional parliaments as well. 

"The entry into force of CETA is a milestone for the EU trade policy” said Markus J. Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope. European businesses of all sizes, he added, have long waited for the most ambitious agreement concluded so far by the EU to become a reality.

BusinessEurope invites companies to register to the new EU system to obtain the status of an authorised exporter: this will allow them to benefit from the preferences established by the agreement, for example abolished custom duties.

“We need as many companies as possible to register by the deadline at the end of the year to tap into the full potential of CETA”, Beyrer explained.  The agreement will bring various benefits: tariff savings on industrial goods, increased access to services markets, new opportunities to bid for public tenders, smoother border procedures and better recognition of European innovative and traditional goods.