CETA to impact foods, NHPs and cosmetics

In October, 2013 the Government of Canada signed an Agreement in Principle on the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and released a technical summary of the negotiated outcomes. Many details of the agreement are still to be negotiated, with ratification of the final agreement targeted for 2015.

CETA will reduce or eliminate tariffs and increase market access for foods and cosmetics, likely resulting in greater competition in Canada but also creating new opportunities for Canadian foods and cosmetics in European markets. One exception to this is supply managed products where tariffs will generally remain the same and increased access will not be granted, other than cheese which will see an additional 16,800 tonnes of new market access to Canada and milk protein substances for which tariffs will be phased out. It is also difficult at this time to predict what the impact will be for NHPs due to the varying regulatory environments, however, regulatory cooperation is another stated aspect of CETA with a formal mechanism for joint initiatives between regulatory authorities.