Comparative Intergovernmental Politics: CETA Negotiations between Canada and the EU

Abstract

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU) required long-term negotiations between two major polities of the industrialized world. During the negotiations, Canada acquiesced to the EU's demand that Canadian provinces participate directly in discussions, setting an important precedent in the dynamics of Canadian external trade. This paper examines the dynamics of intergovernmentalism in the policy area of external trade within the settings of the Canadian provinces and the EU member states, and uses the findings to suggest that in this realm the EU is a stronger example of federal synthesis of decision-making than is Canada. This is significant because it contradicts many established theories of federalism within political science, and implies that the EU could become a strong source of normative example for federal-style polities in the globalized world. As well, the strength of the EU's single market lends credence to the institutions embedded within the supranational polity, and gives the EU significant normative power as a prototype for other experiments in regional integration.

The Evolving Role of Sub-national Actors in International Trade Interactions: A Comparative Analysis of Belgium and Canada

“…To achieve this aim, the analysis will focus on the 10 different strategies adopted by Canada and the EU to engage their sub-national governments in the CETA negotiation/ratification process, and the possible implications for future megaregional trade agreements. To put the discussions in the context of the overarching theme of the publication series, the analyses in this paper will be framed within two distinct forms of interaction observable from the CETA negotiation.…”

“…their very nature have a more delicate power balance, which is being tested by the everincreasing encroachment of international economic disciplines. 10 The propensity for sub-national governments in federal countries to affect the processes of international norms was a prominent feature during the CETA, where sub-national governments in Canada and the EU played pivotal roles during the negotiations and ratification process; albeit for different reasons. For Canada, the major headline was the fact that for the first time in Canada's history of international trade interactions, the provinces were allowed to participate directly in the negotiation process of the CETA.…”

The European agro-food system in the outlook of the adoption of transatlantic trade and investment partnership

“…An important reference point in this subject is CETA agreement, the recently negotiated EU-Canada treaty (Healy, 2014;D'Erman, 2014).…”

The Evolving Role of Sub-National Actors in International Economic Relations: Lessons from the Canada-European Union CETA

“…This is mainly because of federal countries; unlike other non-federal countries by their very nature have a more delicate power balance, which is being tested by the everincreasing encroachment of international economic disciplines. 10 The propensity for sub-national governments in federal countries to affect the processes of international norms was a prominent feature during the CETA, where sub-national governments in Canada and the EU played pivotal roles during the negotiations and ratification process; albeit for different reasons. For Canada, the major headline was the fact that for the first time in Canada's history of international trade interactions, the provinces were allowed to participate directly in the negotiation process of the CETA.…”