WHAT IS THE
‘SUPERCANADA’
TRADE PROPOSAL?
© Dept for International Trade
WE INVESTIGATED WITH ITS ORIGINATOR,
DAVID CAMPBELL BANNERMAN MEP
In her Florence speech, Theresa May described the EU’s deal with Canada as:
“the most advanced free trade agreement the EU has yet concluded and a breakthrough in trade between Canada and the EU”
She then went on to say that it represents a backward step for UK-EU trade and would need to be improved. Such an improved model has been developed by Mr David Campbell Bannerman, a Conservative MEP who has sat on the EU Parliament’s Trade Committee for nearly ten years.
Here is what the Canadian government says:
“CETA is a progressive free trade agreement which covers virtually all sectors and aspects of Canada-EU trade in order to eliminate or reduce barriers. Prior to CETA’s entry into force, only 25% of EU tariff lines on Canadian goods were dutyfree.
“Upon CETA’s entry into force, the EU will remove tariffs on 98% of its tariff lines. Once CETA is fully implemented, the EU will have eliminated tariffs on 99% of its tariff lines.”
The ‘SuperCanada’ proposal takes this further and below we present a summary of ‘SuperCanada’, or ‘CETA+++’. Firstly, here’s a Brexit Facts4EU.Org summary.
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY – THE ‘SUPERCANADA’ TRADE PROPOSAL
  • Takes the existing deal with Canada (CETA) and adds to it
  • No EU ‘common rule book’ for British businesses
  • No freedom of movement
  • No annual payments
  • No jurisdiction of the ECJ over law in the UK
  • Includes services as well as goods
  • Proposes the elimination of at least 99% of tariffs
  • 23 out of 30 chapters will be the same or with minor modifications
THE ELEVATOR PITCH
© DCB
We asked Mr Campbell Bannerman to give an ‘elevator pitch’ to our readers. This is what he said:
“Most trade in the world is done through global trade deals - free trade agreements.
“I’m advocating for the EU-UK trade deal a ‘SuperCanada Deal’ which is bigger, better, wider than the Canada trade deal with the EU (called CETA) that completed last year.
“But it would have more. It would have 100% tariff-free access and it would have services in it. So basically, it’s the best ever trade deal the EU has ever offered and it’s entirely deliverable.”
THE BASICS OF THE DEAL
What follows is our summary taken from papers published by Mr Campbell Bannerman and from his speeches. Readers wanting more information can access this using the links we provide at the bottom of the article.
The easiest way to describe SuperCanada is to describe the EU’s CETA deal with Canada, and then add on the extra ‘pluses’ which turn it into ‘SuperCanada’
THE CANADIAN ‘CETA’ DEAL
The EU sees CETA as modern, comprehensive and a ‘gold standard’ deal. It is the largest free trade deal the EU has ever done, and with the largest economy, so far.
FOR GOODS
The CETA elimination or cutting of customs duties are some of the most far reaching achieved by the EU in a trade agreement: €470 million a year on EU industrial goods and €42 million a year for EU agricultural goods went immediately it was enacted last year. The EU sees this as ‘levelling the playing field on the Canadian market for EU companies’.
CETA actually eliminates tariffs on all industrial products, over two-thirds of tariffs on fishing, and over 90% of tariffs on agricultural goods.
NO MASSIVE PAYMENTS TO THE EU
CETA does NOT require Canada to make a financial contribution to the EU budget.
NO FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
There is no freedom of movement in CETA either, but it does allow easier transfers of company staff and other professionals on a temporary basis such as in legal, accounting, architectural or similar services’. This section relates to Mode 4 of the WTO’s service agreement GATS
NO ‘COMMON RULE BOOK’
On standards, the EU claims: ‘CETA will not change EU standards. Standards and regulations related to food safety, product safety, consumer protection, health, environment, social or labour standards etc. will remain untouched.’
The agreement avoids what it terms ‘double testing’: the EU and Canada accept each others’ conformity assessment certificates in areas such as electrical goods, electronic and radio equipment, toys, machinery or measuring equipment.
FOR SERVICES
CETA is ‘the most far reaching agreement ever concluded by the EU in the area of services and investment. The agreement requires both the EU and Canada to list discriminatory measures and quantitative restrictions across all sectors. It includes provisions to grant the EU greater access to Canada’s postal, telecommunications and maritime transport services markets. It has also given the EU greater access to Canada’s public procurement market.’
In relation to Intellectual Property, CETA strengthens copyright protection and enforcement, provides more patent protection for pharmaceuticals. The EU also has agreement to protect 145 Geographical Indicators (GIs) for high quality products such as Roquefort cheese, Parma ham, or balsamic vinegar.
Mutual Recognition of Professionals – for architects, accountants, engineers, nurses etc – a list of professional qualifications equivalences is provided - which recognises that standards between the EU and Canada in these fields may not be exactly the same but are of equivalently high standard.
So that is the summary of the CETA deal.
WHAT TURNS CETA INTO ‘SUPERCANADA’, OR CETA+++ ?
There are 12 of 30 chapters of the CETA agreement which are near directly transferable, and many based on WTO agreements in any case.
Of the other 18, most require fairly minor change or updating, whilst only 7 need substantial rewriting.
On Government Procurement, there may be additional measures to protect politically sensitive areas such as the NHS or via a Protocol.
Under Intellectual Property, the EU’s desire for Geographical Indications (GIs) on produce such as Parma Ham or Guda cheese should be acknowledged.
Then measures under Regulatory Cooperation to manage future regulatory divergence, depending on how ‘access to the Single Market’ is defined, if the UK were to seek a more deregulated approach.
This also opposes the concept of sanctions being levied under the Trade & Sustainable Development Chapter if in the EU’s opinion we do not meet their environmental standards, which is Trojan Horse for British sovereignty.
The Chapter on Bilateral Cooperation and Dialogues is a good basis for a UK deal but its needs to list which EU programmes the UK may be interested to sign up to.
ON FINANCIAL SERVICES
Finally Mr Campbell Bannerman has added in a ‘bolt on’ of financial services, which is a substantial addition.
This is drawn from the expertise and three reports by former City Minister Mark Hogan, the City of London, City Corporation and Hogan Lovells through the International Regulatory Strategy Group or IRSG, and presents a workable new system of cooperation in financial services including for example a Forum for Regulatory Convergence, to manage issues of divergence.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
You can read a comparison of the existing CETA deal and Mr Campbell Bannerman's 'SuperCanada' (Or CETA+++) option here.
You can also read the full interview we conducted with this British pro-Brexit MEP in the article above. In it he expands on the reasons why SuperCanada might be acceptable to both sides, as well as making some hard-hitting comments on all matters relating to Brexit.
OBSERVATIONS
In the sane, normal world outside Brussels, it would be a piece of cake – relatively speaking – for the EU to agree a future trading relationship with the UK. After all, the starting point is the total equivalence of all UK goods and services under EU law.
The EU has recently – as shown by the CETA deal and others in production – been able to negotiate trading relationships with ‘third party’ countries without demanding subservience of a country’s courts to the ECJ, or demanding that all its manufacturing production must meet EU standards even when products are not being exported to the EU, or demanding annual payments, or demanding freedom of movement for its people.
The major fact preventing the EU from negotiating a normal, sensible deal with the UK is the EU’s desire to punish the UK for daring to leave.
We used to say this kind of thing in diplomatic language. Now we no longer see the need to do so. There is now absolutely no doubt that the EU fanatics in Brussels and in many of the capitals of EU27 countries are on a politically-motivated mission to demonstrate to all members that escape is impossible. Or if not impossible, then economically damaging.
A trading relationship with a soon-to-be former member should be easier than with an already independent country thousands of miles away. Instead, they wish to make it much, much harder for the UK. And punitive.
We suggest that the world will judge this behaviour and see it for what it is.
SUPERCANADA
We applaud David Campbell Bannerman (DCB) for resolutely promoting the basis of a possible trading relationship based on the Canada deal, with improvements based on the UK’s special relationship as a current member.
Naturally there are elements of this proposal about which some of us have concerns, but in his interview with our editor yesterday DCB was at pains to say that his is a framework, not a set-in-stone document detailing every last point. His flexibility is perhaps what has helped this proposal to gain currency – in Brussels as well as in London.
CHEQUERS AND SUPERCANADA
As you will see when you read the full interview our editor did with DCB yesterday, Theresa May’s Chequers proposal based on the unelected Olly Robbins White Paper bears no relation to the possibility of a SuperCanada deal.
As DCB himself told us:
“Chequers is a kind of Euromush. I think it was all about pandering to the EU.”
We couldn’t agree more.
[ Sources: David Campbell Bannerman MEP | EU Commission | No.10 | Canadian Government ]
     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.
       09.25am, Sunday 22 July 2018
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