EU trade chief expects Canada will ratify CETA trade deal within weeks
by The Canadian Press
Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom also said despite Trump's anti-trade rhetoric, she's not writing off Europe's free trade pact with the U.S.
OTTAWA—The European Union’s trade chief says she expects Canada to ratify the landmark CETA free trade agreement within weeks.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom says she expects the Canada-EU pact to stand as an example of the merits of free trade for the protectionist Donald Trump administration in Washington.
Despite Trump’s anti-trade rhetoric, Malmstrom says there is still hope of a U.S.-EU free deal because Trump hasn’t formally declared the negotiations dead, unlike the Trans-Pacific Partnership which he pulled the U.S. out of in January.
Malmstrom says the proposed U.S.-EU free trade deal has flown under the radar of fractious U.S. politics.
She also praised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a successful visit to Washington last month, saying it promoted “global interests,” not just Canada’s.
Malmstrom is in Ottawa for meetings with Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.
