Canada-EU trade pact final wording delayed

Canada and the European Union failed to ink the final text of their long-sought free trade agreement this week after a series of familiar irritants reared their heads once more.

One of the obstacles to resurface was a disagreement over protection of intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical sector, an EU briefing note says...

The two sides reached an agreement in principle in October on the Comprehensive Trade and Investment Agreement, or CETA...

'Technical problems'

...[Minister] Fast's spokeswoman played down the differences between the two sides, but offered no timeline.

"Canada and the EU are continuing to work diligently to conclude CETA negotiations on the small number of outstanding technical matters," Shannon Gutoskie told The Canadian Press in an email.

A senior Canadian official, who was not authorized to speak for attribution, said even if an agreed text emerges, the deal remains a long way off because both sides still need to consult with their member countries and provinces, and then consult lawyers.

Why the delay?

... "To be quite frank, final technical discussions have proven to be more difficult than originally foreseen," [EU Trade Commissioner] De Gucht said...

A EU briefing prepared in advance of Wednesday's meeting identified "intellectual property rights for pharmaceuticals" along with financial services, tariff rates, geographical indications and investment protection, among others.

The dispute over intellectual property protection for pharmaceuticals was a major irritant between the two sides during their four years of marathon negotiations.

Canada wants to exclude "a decision by a court, administrative tribunal, or other government intellectual property authority" under a section dealing with licenses for intellectual property rights, according to an April 4 draft text on services and investment obtained by The Canadian Press.

According to a report on Friday in the industry publication Inside U.S. Trade, de Gucht told Fast in their Wednesday meeting that Canada's position on the issue was unacceptable. The report cited an unnamed source...

This has been excerpted from 9 May 2014 article by the CBC News, and is available in its entirety at http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-eu-trade-pact-final-wording-delayed-1.2638018