The bill to implement the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) (Bill C-30), has been set by his Excellency the Governor General in Council to come into force on September 21, 2017.
Bill C-30 raises the Investment Canada Act (ICA) review threshold for non-state owned enterprise investors from EU member states, as well as the US, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, and South Korea, in non-cultural businesses to C$1.5 billion in enterprise value of the Canadian business.
Further, CETA is intended to significantly boost trade and investment ties between Canada and the EU and will cover most aspects of the Canada-EU bilateral economic relationship, including trade in goods and services, investment, and government procurement, in addition to granting the flexibility to include areas of mutual interest beyond those that have traditionally been included in Canada’s trade agreements, such as regulatory cooperation. CETA would eliminate or lessen barriers to foreign investment and introduce measures to protect investors from discriminatory treatment; however, European investors will still be required to undergo the ministerial review process under the Investment Canada Act for high-value acquisitions of control of Canadian businesses, and decisions taken thereunder will not be subject to CETA’s dispute settlement provisions.
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