Meeting of the CETA Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development

April 10 and 11, 2024 (by videoconference)

Joint Report

The sixth meeting of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) was hosted by Canada in a virtual format on April 10 and 11, 2024.

Officials from the European Union (EU) and Canada provided an update on their respective domestic and international policy developments related to trade and environment, trade and labour, and trade and gender. During the review of the TSD committee work plan, the Parties exchanged views on themes and activities for ongoing cooperation to advance trade and sustainable development initiatives under CETA for the period 2024-2026. The Parties also committed to re-engaging with each other on the TSD Early Review.

At the end of the meeting, the co-chairs of the Canadian and the EU Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) under CETA joined the committee meeting. The Parties debriefed on the work undertaken by the TSD Committee and the outcomes of the Civil Society forum held on March 18 and 19, 2024 (report from the Civil Society Forum). This meeting provided an opportunity for the DAGs to offer feedback and suggestions on these items. The Parties and the representatives of the DAG agreed to deepen their ongoing collaboration through an annual intersessional meeting between each Civil Society Forum meeting.

Review of the sixth Civil Society Forum (CSF) meeting

The Parties jointly reflected on the outcomes of the CSF which took place in Ottawa on March 18-19, 2024. Both Canada and the EU expressed their satisfaction with this year’s Forum. The Parties underscored the success of the sessions led by the DAGs and the engagement of governments to debrief civil society participants on the numerous domestic and international policy developments and bilateral cooperation activities in 2023/2024. Canada and the EU also reflected on possible areas of improvement for future CSF meetings. This included increasing cooperation on data exchange to assess CETA’s impacts, notably on traditionally underrepresented groups in international trade and investment, and deepening the collaboration with the DAGs on the planning and organization of the CSF.

Information exchange on trade and environment and trade and climate action policy developments

During this dedicated session on trade and environment and trade and climate policy, the Parties provided an update on their respective developments in these areas, including on their ongoing bilateral and regional trade and environment negotiations. The Parties agreed to engage in further information sharing of best practices on negotiating environment provisions in free trade agreements.

Canada and the EU reaffirmed their alignment on issues raised during the CSF, which included carbon pricing, the ban on single use plastics and circular economy. The EU shared with Canada an update on their implementation of CBAM, including information on the first reporting period, and signalled their ongoing willingness to engage with Canada on implementation concerns.

Canada and the EU expressed that joint action under the framework of the Green Alliance was a top priority to help achieve the shared aim of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. The Parties discussed avenues for potential next steps on bilateral cooperation regarding raw materials, biodiversity loss, and addressing the full life cycle of plastics.

Information exchange on trade and labour policy developments and initiatives

The Parties discussed latest ratifications of International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions by EU Member States and Canada and related work to promote Convention No. 190 – Violence and Harassment Convention. The Parties shared information on legislative and policy initiatives to tackle labour exploitation in global supply chains, as well as recent EU and Canadian initiatives that promote workers’ rights, including in multilateral forums. The Parties also exchanged information on cooperation in and with third countries in Asia and Latin America, and others, and committed to continue and deepen cooperation. Canada and the EU also shared an overview of their respective engagement, including technical assistance projects, in third countries to promote and protect internationally recognized labour rights.

The EU presented its legislative initiatives on forced labour and mandatory due diligence supply chain. Canada shared information on its import prohibition on goods produced by forced labour, the recent entry into force (January 1, 2024) of the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, and its commitment to introduce due diligence legislation to help eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains. Canada also discussed its engagement in the Equal Pay International Coalition and the ILO’s Global Coalition for Social Justice and offered to facilitate collaboration with the EU in these multilateral initiatives.

The Parties committed to reinforce coordination and cooperation in third countries, focusing on supply chains and the most vulnerable workers.

Discussion on Trade and Gender

Canada and the EU shared their recent achievements and progress in advancing gender-related trade issues. They outlined their objectives on trade and gender and recommended that the Parties continue to hold joint activities on trade and gender. Canada specifically proposed an activity encouraging women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. They underscored the need for continued collaboration to make trade more inclusive and expressed their eagerness to continue working together to foster inclusivity in trade. Both parties reiterated their commitment to further cooperation, particularly through joint activities.

Discussion on Work Plan for 2024/2025 and next steps moving forward

The Co-chairs agreed to update the current workplan of the TSD Committee by establishing a list of priority co-operation areas and activities with a 2-year timeline (2024-2026).  The Parties agreed that the extension of the timeline would allow them to ensure adequate time to achieve the objectives they identify. They also agreed to a more active consultation process with the DAGs in the elaboration of the work plan. Canada and the EU discussed areas in which enhanced engagement would be beneficial, such as carbon pricing and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, chemicals management with a specific focus on labelling, measures to combat labour exploitation in global supply chains, cooperation on labour in select third countries, and the ILO Global Coalition for Social Justice. The Parties also tentatively agreed to reflect on inclusion of additional cooperation activities and on women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Officials will engage in follow-up discussions to finalize the 2024-2026 work plan, in consultation with the DAGs.

Trade and Sustainable Development Early Review

As an introduction to the discussion on the early review, the EU expressed its satisfaction with the progress made in delivering on CETA’s TSD commitments and effectively implementing them through existing tools. The EU provided an overview of how the TSD commitments are being integrated in their trade agreements and suggested potential improvements under CETA, including further integrating the DAGs into the work of the committee, enhancing transparency, and using active tools and joint instruments to better implement TSD commitments.

Canada reiterated its position on the importance of enhancing the enforceability of CETA’s TSD provisions, emphasizing that this is a request from stakeholders and civil society. Both Parties agreed to continue discussions on the TSD Early Review, including through exploring intersessionally creative solutions that could achieve the TSD Early Review’s without re-opening CETA.

General discussion between the Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) and TSD Chairs and Co-Chairs

Representatives of the Canadian and European CETA DAGs joined this session of the TSD Committee meeting. The Co-chairs provided a summary of discussions between Parties during the meeting, including with respect to potential collaboration ideas for the coming year.  The Parties briefly discussed the joint statement issued by the DAGs, committing to respond to this statement in a more comprehensive manner at a later date. They nevertheless noted their intention to consult the DAGs more often on the activities of the committee. Canada and the EU also expressed their gratitude to the DAGs for their involvement and contributions to the sixth Annual CETA CSF.

The DAGs appreciated the review provided by the Parties and expressed satisfaction with their intention to consult them more extensively on the development of the work plan, and to involve them at an early stage in the development of the CSF agenda through an intersessional meeting.

Finally, officials and DAG representatives exchanged their views on potential enhancements that could be made to the implementation of CETA’s TSD provisions in the context of the TSD Early Review, in advance of re-engagement between the Parties on this matter.

Participants

Canada

Global Affairs Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada
Mission of Canada to the European Union

European Union

European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Trade
EC Directorate-General for Environment
EC Directorate-General for Climate Action
EC Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
EC Directorate-General for Justice
Delegation of the European Union to Canada