Understanding CETA: Legal Challenges and Business Opportunities

Negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union were concluded in August 2014. Eliminating all customs duties on industrial goods and substantially reducing those on agricultural products, the CETA is expected to save almost a billion euros per year for European exporters and generate thousands of jobs. CETA’s investment chapter offers an innovative but controversial mechanism of dispute resolution, the Investment Court System, which has been presented as a model for investment treaties in the future. With provisions on government procurement and regulatory cooperation, CETA is poised to contribute to massive economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet ongoing political unrest including that associated with the UK’s departure from the EU, along with widespread popular resistance to globalization jeopardizes the ratification of the treaty in EU member states. CETA’s future is uncertain and many of its benefits may not materialize. 

Speaker: Christophe Bondy, Partner, Volterra Fietta

Speaker: Dr Elaine Fahey, The City Law School, City, University of London

Speaker: Mark Richardson, Senior Trade Commissioner, High Commission of Canada

Speaker: David Kleimann, European University Institute (EUI), Florence (download the paper here)

Chair: Professor David Collins, The City Law School, City, University of London 

This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of European Laws (ISEL) and the International Legal and Global Affairs Group (ILAG). 

The event will be followed by a wine reception.