Address by Minister Champagne at a Plenary Session on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Between Canada and the European Union

Assolombarda Headquarters

May 29, 2017 - Milan, Italy

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with the Government of Canada’s communications policy.

Thank you for those kind words of introduction.

Good morning, friends and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the presence of fellow parliamentarians, la Délégation du Québec en Italie, as well as representatives of the three Italian Chambers of Commerce in Canada, located in Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal.

Let me also welcome and extend my sincere appreciation to all my fellow Canadians and our Italian friends who are attending today’s plenary session. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank Gianfelice and his team at Assolombarda for welcoming us and bringing everyone together here today.

I’m delighted to be part of this historic Team Canada trade mission to Italy with some of our country’s leading companies in the aerospace and defence, agriculture and agri-food, and information and communications technology sectors.

My visit here this week feels a lot like coming home.

As some of you may know, I lived and worked in Genoa for four years before entering politics in Canada.

So this country and its people will always hold a special place in my heart.

Now, I’m thrilled to return to Italy in a new capacity as Canada’s Minister of International Trade.

Milan is Italy’s business capital and one of the world’s major financial centres.

So it’s fitting that we are kicking off our trade mission here.

Tomorrow, the Canadian business delegation and I will be fortunate to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Rome.

I look forward to attending our Prime Minister’s historic speech at the Italian Parliament tomorrow morning – a true honour for Canada that speaks to the enduring strength of our close ties.                         

Canada and Italy have a lot in common. 

The people-to-people ties between Canada and Italy are some of the strongest in the world, with nearly 1.5 million people of an Italian heritage now living in Canada – more than 300,000 of them in my home province of Quebec.

Many Canadians also call Italy home.

These are the ties on which a remarkable partnership started and remains the principal reason for its continued success.

Both of our countries are trading nations, and our prosperity depends on our ability to trade with the world.

More trade and more investments mean more growth for our companies, our economies and the well-paying jobs we are determined to generate for our people.

That’s why Canada is so committed to pursuing free, open and progressive trade.

And it’s why we are so proud of the gold-standard trade agreement we so carefully crafted with our European partners.

By starting our trade negotiations for CETA where our relationship started, our people, governments created a new and progressive agreement that puts them first. 

CETA is about making people’s lives better.

CETA is a comprehensive blueprint for responsible economic cooperation between countries and will ensure the future prosperity of Italians and Canadians alike.

We may not have realized when we started but its culmination and application (very soon!) now comes at a time of growing recognition around the world that when it comes to international trade, business as usual is no longer an option.

This is the right deal at the right time.

Many people, especially those working hard to join the middle class, feel that trade and globalization have not worked for them.

They feel that their interests have been ignored by corporations and politicians.

Some political leaders have chosen to respond to public anxiety by pursuing protectionist policies.

This has never been the right solution, and today is no exception.

The status quo is also not option.

We need to think differently about how we pursue trade.

CETA is a manifestation of a new approach – one that not only benefits all segments of society, but secures their support for the trade deals we need and addresses the genuine anxiety people feel by putting people first.

Those are the guiding principles behind Canada’s progressive trade agenda.

Canada’s commercial relations with Italy are already strong, with two-way merchandise trade reaching almost $10 billion (€6.7 billion) last year.

Foreign direct investment between Canada and Italy, meanwhile, was valued at $2.8 billion (almost €2 billion) at the end of 2016.

With the application of CETA fast approaching, our commercial ties are poised to grow even stronger.

This mission is about capitalizing on the enormous and remarkable opportunity that CETA brings for our producers, workers and their families on both sides of the Atlantic.

CETA will guarantee duty-free access for almost all originating goods traded between Canada and the EU.

Tariffs will be eliminated on almost everything that Italy exports to Canada.

Currently, Canadian tariffs on motor vehicle and parts, machinery and engineering equipment, furniture and clothing and footwear – to name a few – range from eight to 18 percent.

CETA will drop those tariffs down to zero. A NIENTE!

The same is true for thousands of other popular Italian imports in Canada.

The elimination of tariffs will benefit exporters, importers, and, ultimately, consumers in both our countries, who will enjoy more choice and lower costs for a variety of products.                                   

CETA will also make it possible for 41 Italian products – including Prosciutto di Parma and San Daniele – to be marketed in Canada with their proper trade names.

That’s a first, and it’s largely thanks to the comprehensive nature of CETA.

CETA will also open up significant opportunities in the Canadian government procurement market, which is estimated to be worth up to €119 billion.

When CETA is provisionally applied, EU suppliers will be able to compete for government contracts and provide goods and services at all levels of government in Canada: federal, provincial and municipal.

Canadian companies will likewise benefit from new opportunities to win government contracts in the EU procurement market – one of the largest in the world.

The recently signed memorandum of understanding between Consip and its Canadian partner is a great example of cooperation on government procurement made possible by CETA.

As a modern and ambitious agreement, CETA also clearly recognizes the increasingly important role that services play in our economies.

The services sector is responsible for the majority of economic activity in both Canada and the EU – over 70 percent in both cases.

With CETA, service suppliers will enjoy vastly improved access to each other’s markets.

Crucially for the Italian economy, many of those who will reap the rewards will be smaller Italian businesses providing services in engineering, architecture, and machinery and equipment repair.

CETA will also make it easier for company staff and other professionals to work on both sides of the Atlantic, and for firms to move staff temporarily between Italy and Canada. 

By putting predictable investment rules in place and guaranteeing access to the Canadian market, CETA will also help enhance two-way investment flows.

While other nations are choosing to close their borders and look inward, Canada stands out as a beacon of stability, predictability, inclusiveness and diversity. 

And that’s a big part of what makes Canada such an attractive place to invest.

We’re also proud of the numbers: our business taxes and overall business costs are the lowest in the G7. Our banking system is second-to-none, the best availability of skilled labour in the G20 and we offer unparalleled access to global markets. 

In fact, businesses operating in Canada already benefit from preferential access to a North American market of more than 480 million consumers.

In total, once CETA is added to the mix, Canada will have free trade access to more than 40 countries with nearly 1.2 billion of the world’s wealthiest consumers.

This will put Canada right at the centre of a network of free trade agreements connecting the Americas, Asia and Europe – making Canada truly the Atlantic and Pacific trading nation we have always been.

Today’s event is a great opportunity for our Italian friends to find out what Canada brings to the table and explore potential new business partnerships thanks to CETA.

So I encourage you to make the most of the valuable networking opportunities available to you today.

Reach out to our Trade Commissioner Service if you need any advice on investing in Canada or opportunities in the Italian market.

Canada’s Chief Trade Commissioner, Ailish Campbell, and our Senior Trade Commissioner in Italy are both with us here today.

Canada is grateful to Italy, and to its business leaders, for being such strong supporters of CETA from the very beginning.

I look forward to your continued support and advocacy of CETA for early ratification in the Italian Parliament.

As a progressive agreement, CETA shows the world that with great ambition and the will to get things done, progressive trade deals are possible.

That’s something we can all be proud of.

CETA is poised to do great things for our countries and our people. Now, let’s get to work! Andiamo al Lavoro!

Thank you. Merci. Grazie.