September 12, 2014 - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada today issued the following information regarding the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Canadian marine shipping industry:
- CETA will give Canadian companies preferential access to 500 million consumers and a market with an annual GDP of $18 trillion.
- CETA is projected to increase bilateral trade by 20 percent and increase Canada’s GDP by $12 billion.
- CETA will benefit and help the Canadian shipping industry grow due to this increase in trade.
- CETA will ensure a level playing field for Canadian shipping companies, and existing safety, security and pollution-prevention regulations that apply to foreign vessels operating in Canada will continue to apply, as will requirements applied to foreign nationals working on these vessels.
- CETA fully protects the right of the Canadian government to adopt or maintain any measure affecting the investment in or provision of marine shipping services, with the exception of the following three specific services where limited access has been provided to the EU.
Dredging Services: an excavation activity with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments to keep waterways navigable
- Canadian stakeholders, such as the Vancouver and Saint John port authorities, have indicated in the past that access to international dredging service providers would be beneficial.
- Dredging services can be obtained through the use of either public or private sector procurement contracts. For services contracted by governments under Canada’s government procurement commitments in CETA, only covered entities and projects above $7.8 million are covered.
- Only one federally procured contract in Canada in the last five years has been above this threshold.
- Under CETA, dredging service contractors retain the right to use such selection criteria as quality, price, local knowledge and relevant experience, as well as the ability to apply environmental and social criteria. The terms, size and structure of the contract will continue to be determined by the contractor.
- Canada is a small dredging services market with a small dredging industry. In order to meet their needs, Canadian dredging contractors have used foreign suppliers for large dredging contracts.
Container Repositioning: the repositioning of empty containers within Canada on a non-revenue basis
- Canadian stakeholders, more specifically the Shipping Federation of Canada, with the support of key Canadian port authorities, requested this CETA outcome.
- CETA will only allow European vessels to transport their own empty containers on a non-revenue basis. This provides no scope for EU suppliers to offer this service to others.
Feedering: In the context of CETA, feedering is the transport of goods between the port of Halifax and the port of Montréal by a vessel registered in an EU member state. No feedering can be provided to any other ports.
- There are currently no Canadian ship owners providing feeder services between the ports of Halifax and Montréal.
- CETA will require any potential EU provider of a continuous service between Halifax and Montréal to use vessels listed on the national registry of an EU member state and bearing the flag of that EU country. This will ensure a competitive environment since the operators of those vessels are required to adhere to the labour, tax, environmental and safety standards of that EU member state.
- CETA will also permit a one-way feedering service to be provided between Halifax and Montréal, if that trip is a single voyage that includes an international leg. The vessel is required to be listed on the registry of an EU member state and bear the flag of that state.
- Use of “flags of convenience,” which often allow more liberal labour, tax, environmental and safety standards, is not permitted for these feedering services.
- In addition, any ships transiting in Canadian waters must adhere to Canada’s strict safety and environmental regulations at all times.
For more information, please visit Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Shannon Gutoskie
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Ed Fast
Minister of International Trade
613-992-7332
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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