Report: 1st Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) meeting on SMEs by Teleconference, Ottawa and Brussels, July 5th, 2019

1. Summary:

The first meeting on the CETA Joint Committee SMEs recommendation took place via teleconference in Ottawa and Brussels on July 5th, 2019. The meeting was opened with brief introductions from officials attending the meeting in Brussels and Ottawa. Canada then delivered two presentations titled “FTA Promotion, Awareness and Capacity building for Canadian Businesses” and “Canadian Small Business and Entrepreneurship Landscape”, followed by the European Union presentation titled “How to export to the European Union – EU Trade Helpdesk” and a discussion on the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). This provided an excellent overall context on the European Union and Canada’s policies related to SMEs and their utilization of CETA to begin the implementation of the CETA SME recommendation.

2. Follow-Up Items:

Canada

1. Share information on the top inquiries received by the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) by industrial sector from Canadian companies on CETA.
2. Seek to identify an organization(s) that may be interested and able to join the EEN.
3. Share information on the tools Canada offers to support SME internationalization.
4. Organize a “clusters collaboration information sharing session” (videoconference or teleconference).
5. Reach out to Chapter lead contact points to raise awareness of SME-related issues under CETA.

European Union

1. Share information with Canada on developing a Trade HelpDesk similar to the EU model, including connecting IT professionals in the EU with Canadian IT professionals.
2. Share additional information on the EEN.
3. Share information on the tools the EU offers to support SME internationalization.
4. Reach out to Chapter lead contact points to raise awareness of SME-related issues under CETA.