MONTREAL – Starting on Thursday, September 21, 98% of the trade between Greece and Canada is no longer subject to to pay duties due to the “temporary” implementation of the CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, agreed to last year and signed in February of this year by the European Union and Canadian government, the final form of which will be ratified by the parliaments of the member states.
The agreement has already been ratified by the House of Representatives and by the European Parliament, followed by a long way of ratifying its final force by national parliaments, including the Greek, where the debate is bound to be overshadowed by the reactions have been raised around the issue of feta, as it will now be allowed for certain Canadian producers to use the name “feta” in their products.
However, the provisions of the agreement are not widely known in Canada. On Thursday, Canadian television reported that 56% of small and medium-sized businesses in the country do not know exactly what the agreement includes, nor have they heard about the abolition of tariffs that have an almost “integral character.”
“I know that duties will be abolished but I do not think it will be so fast,” said Asimakis Papanikolaou, an independent importer of olives, originally from Messinia operating in the northwest of Montreal. “If it does, the benefit will be great for our expatriates,” he added.
On the other hand, journalist Laurie Keza, with a long and successful career in the media field in Greece, has been writing as political editor for the newspaper “Vima” and “BHMAgazino” for years, told The National Herald that “tariffs on trade between Canada and European countries are abolished from September 21. This drops prices by 20% and can work to the benefit of both the customer and the producer. The customer will pay much cheaper and the Greek producer can increase sales volume.”
Laurie Keza has been established for a few months in Montreal, changing her professional track, and has founded the company TROFIMA Greek Goods, which specializes in the import of select and quality Greek products for the large Canadian market.
“There is demand for oil, olives, and honey. There is also interest in spoon sweets, pasta, loukoumia, herbs, and gluten-free items in general. We always talk about standardized and certified products,” she told TNH.
Christos Aggelis is 71 years old, originally from Epirus, and has been shopping in a certain supermarket in Park Avenue for years. “This 20% off the price of imported products from Greece sounds good. But will it apply in practice? Or will we… ruin it like gasoline prices in Greece? Where when international price of oil drops those remain high, if they are not increasing as well.”
Mr. Aggelis raises the issue of passing on the benefit to the consumer. This remains to be seen in practice, in the coming weeks already. If the conditions of a healthy market function, then the products imported from Europe will become more competitive in Canada.
However, the CETA is not limited to commercial transactions. As noted by the Consul General of Greece in Montreal, Nicolas Sigalas, there is provision for a package of functions that includes, among other things, occupational rights and access to public procurement.
This means, in short, that European businesses will now have access to Canadian public procurement, including those of the cities and provinces of Canada that manage a substantial part of public spending. Something confirmed on Wednesday, September 20 in Canadian media reports as well as in a comprehensive press release from the French News Agency.
So far, the agreement has been ratified by the parliaments of Spain, Malta, Latvia, Croatia, and Denmark, however, the greatest interest is directed at the decision of the Greek Parliament.
If a country votes no, it will wreak havoc on the Agreement, at least in principle. It is characteristic that the president of the Pan-Hellenic Livestock Farmers Federation Nikos Palaskas has stated that if the CETA and the predictions for Greek feta come true, then Greek livestock farming will be decimated.
However, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his Twitter account noted, “As of September 21, 98% of CETA will be applied, creating more jobs for people & opportunities for businesses.”
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