The Canadian trade minister, Chrystia Freeland, declared that the European Union was incapable of finalizing a trans-Atlantic trade deal and walked out of negotiations, said Reuters. The environmental group Friends of the Earth said it was time to kill the Canada-EU pact and a proposed U.S.-EU free-trade agreement.
EU member nations support the pact with Canada but decided last summer that it would be referred to each country for approval. The Wallonia section of Belgium opposes the trade agreement with Canada and its opposition means Belgium cannot give its assent, said Reuters. Walloons reportedly are worried about a surge in pork and beef imports from Canada and how trade disputes would be settled.
Freeland said “it is now evident to me, evident to Canada, that the European Union is incapable of reaching an agreement,” reported Reuters. “Failure to strike a deal with such a like-minded country as Canada would call into question the EU’s ability to forge other deals and undermine a bloc already battered by Britain’s vote to leave and disputes over Europe’s migration crisis,” said the news agency, using the U.S.-EU pact as an example.