On October 21, the talks between Wallonia, the EU and Canada failed.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) trade deal needed to be ratified by all national parliaments in order to enter into force. However, the Belgian region Wallonia objected to TTIP. Wallonia’s consent was necessary for the Belgian government to approve CETA. The European Commission, however, has stated that the failure of the talks does not mean the end of CETA.
The European Union had set an ultimatum for the Belgian federal government for Monday evening (October 24). However, at the moment of writing the Walloon parliament is still rejecting the agreement.
As CETA aims to reduce custom duties and open up the public procurement and services’ market, the agreement would be beneficial for European shippers. It is estimated that the elimination of all industrial duties would safe European exporters around 470 million euros a year.