The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, advocated for forward-looking trade and economic cooperation during the fifth meeting of the Joint Committee of the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), alongside Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security and for Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.
This year’s joint committee meeting provided an opportunity for Canada and the EU to highlight concrete progress under CETA, reaffirm the strength of the bilateral partnership and identify priority areas for deeper regulatory and economic cooperation.
Minister Sidhu and Commissioner Šefčovič focused the day on exploring opportunities to fully leverage CETA in support of Canada and the EU’s trade diversification efforts. The Minister and Commissioner committed to working together to reinforce predictable rules, make supply chains more secure and lower shared economic risks.
At the joint committee meeting, officials delivered on three significant outcomes:
- The formal launch of negotiations toward a Canada-EU digital trade agreement
- The signing of a joint committee decision adopting supplemental rules on expedited arbitration procedures for the resolution of investment disputes between investors and states, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises
- The conclusion of technical work to amend the Good Manufacturing Practices Protocol to include active pharmaceutical ingredients
Please visit this link for more information: https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2026/03/minister-sidhu-concludes-productive-meeting-on-comprehensive-economic-and-trade-agreement-with-european-union-in-toronto.html