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CETA

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was concluded in 2014 between the European Union and Canada. It entered into provisional application in September 2017.

The agreement covers most aspects of new generation trade deals, including intellectual property, public procurements, regulatory cooperation, services and elimination of tariffs.

It also includes an investment chapter with a revised investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, dubbed investment court system. Many critics on both sides of the Atlantic say that this new system is largely window-dressing and does not address the core of the problem behind investor-state dispute measures which enable foreign corporations to sue states if they deem their profits or investment potentials affected by new laws or changes in policy.

Photo: Council of Canadians

(March 2020)

CETA: What the leaked version reveals
Le Monde | 17-Aug-2014
The most controversial provisions include the investor state dispute resolution mechanism (ISDS), an arbitral tribunal meant to settle disputes between governments and corporations.
Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS
Ce que révèle la version fuitée de l’accord de libre-échange Europe/Canada
Le Monde | 17-Aug-2014
Parmi les dispositions les plus controversées figure le mécanisme de règlement des différends investisseurs-Etats (ISDS)
Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS
EU-Canada trade deal leak ‘ridicules’ TTIP consultation, campaigners say
EurActiv | 15-Aug-2014
The leaked EU-Canada trade agreement contains a controversial chapter on investor-state disputes settlement that is substantially unchanged from previous drafts that were used as a basis for the EU’s recently held public consultation.
Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Geist: How a 20-year-old patent application could upend Canada’s biggest trade deal
The Star | 4-Aug-2014
From a Canadian perspective, the Eli Lilly case has provided a powerful reminder that the risks associated with ISDS may outweigh the benefits with legal cases that can take decades to resolve.
Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS , NAFTA | USMCA
Germany insists it hasn’t scuttled CETA: report
iPolitics | 29-Jul-2014
The German ministry of the economy has clarified its position on the Canada-EU trade agreement (CETA), saying it will “meticulously” examine the agreement as soon as it’s on the table, Agence France Presse reported Monday.
Canada , EU , Germany , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Germany to reject EU-Canada trade deal - Sueddeutsche newspaper
Reuters | 26-Jul-2014
Germany is to reject a multi-billion free trade deal between the European Union and Canada which is widely seen as a template for a bigger agreement with the United States, a leading German paper reported on Saturday.
Canada , EU , Georgia , investor-state disputes | ISDS
CETA ‘should be initialed by September 25′: EU Trade Commissioner
iPolitics | 23-Jul-2014
The end of the Canada-EU trade agreement (CETA) technical negotiations are “in sight” and the deal should be initialed in time for a late September bilateral summit in Ottawa, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said Tuesday.
Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Canada-EU trade deal: Trojan horse for contested ISDS?
ETUC | 9-May-2014
The EU-Canada trade agreement – which may be concluded on May 8 at the Foreign Affairs Council – should not be used as a ‘Trojan horse’ to smuggle in a controversial Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) warned the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS
[ETUC] Canada-EU trade deal: Trojan horse for contested ISDS?
ETUC | 7-May-2014
The EU-Canada trade agreement – which may be concluded on May 8 at the Foreign Affairs Council – should not be used as a ‘Trojan horse’ to smuggle in a controversial Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) warned the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
actions | resistance , Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
L’accord commercial UE-Canada ouvre la porte à des poursuites judiciaires
EurActiv | 13-Feb-2014
Les multinationales pourront intenter des procès à un État membre si ce dernier promulguait de nouvelles lois sur l’environnement allant à l’encontre des « attentes légitimes » des entreprises, selon un chapitre de l’accord commercial entre l’UE et le Canada signé en novembre dernier.
Canada , environment , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP