Transparency Norms, The World Trade System and Free Trade Agreements: The Case of CETA

Abstract

Canada and the European Union (EU) are negotiating an ambitious Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). While the content of the agreement has not yet been officially disclosed by its negotiators, the general public and the business community are already concerned about the scope and effect of CETA on the two economies and their societies. This article deals with CETA’s transparency provisions. It claims that, whereas CETA has not yet utilized external transparency to ensure support for the negotiations, it does have the potential for greater regulatory transparency in technical barriers to trade (TBT)- and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)-related matters than that found not only in the existing World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements but also in free trade agreements (FTAs) the two parties previously negotiated with third countries.

Keywords: Canada, European Union, Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Free Trade