SCENARIO

Essay

SCENARIO:
Consider the pending Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and Europe. This will go far beyond the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and is designed to eliminate thousands of tariffs, encourage foreign investment and promote movement of labour.
The deal will impact just about every sector of the Canadian economy as well as millions of workers and consumers. Canadian consumers might end up paying less for thousands of products made in Europe, such as cars. For Canadian business, a potential advantage is open access to Europe for hundreds of their products, some of which now face high tariffs.
However, many Canadian companies also worry they will be overwhelmed by new foreign competition. For example, the agreement will allow more than double the quota of cheese entering Canada from Europe. This could hurt Ontario and Quebec dairy farmers' market. However, the Canadian government has claimed it will subsidize those cheese producers, and that it will set up a marketing campaign for local cheese. The deal will also remove a trade barrier that currently protects Ontario wines and liquor from foreign competitors.
What are the potential negative consequences of removing tariffs on European imports to Canada? Discuss potential impact on consumers, employment, competitiveness, and culture in the Canadian context.(8 marks)