No Tariffs, But Trade Barriers to EU Market Persist

Friday, July 24, 2026

Mixed reviews from ag sector on nearly 10-year-old Canada-EU agreement

By Stephanie McDonald

Canadian agriculture is under pressure to diversify its international markets amid ongoing tariff uncertainty with major trading partners. Since 2017, farmers across the country have enjoyed nearly tariff-free trade in agricultural products with Canada’s second-largest trading partner, the European Union (EU). But what impact has the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, had on the farming sector?

When CETA came into force provisionally in September 2017, the then minister of agriculture, Lawrence MacAulay, said it “will boost Canada’s agricultural trade with the world’s second-largest market, creating jobs, deepening economic relations and improving market access for Canada’s top-quality agricultural and seafood products.”

While bilateral trade has increased, the story of Canadian agricultural trade with the EU presents a more complicated picture than MacAulay had envisioned.

Beef exports ‘stagnant’

With CETA in force, Canada was granted duty-free access for almost 65,000 tonnes of beef and veal a year. In spite of this, the cattle industry’s initial optimism that the agreement would remove longstanding barriers to the EU market quickly dissipated.

Speaking recently from his ranch south of Birtle, Man., Tyler Fulton, president of the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA), says, “There is a desire, a very earnest desire, to expand and diversify the markets for Canadian beef, especially in this geopolitical reality that we’ve got. But CETA continues to fall short of our expectations and of its potential.”

Only three per cent of the 65,000 tonnes allowance — called a tariff rate quota (TRQ) — was used by Canadian beef exporters in 2021–2023.

“There’s been no improvement in our ability to access the market, so our exports to the EU have been stagnant and low, not coming anywhere near to utilizing the TRQ that was negotiated,” Fulton says.

He cites a number of EU regulations, each with its own administrative burden, that act as barriers and add uncertainty to market access.

Since 1989, the EU has banned the import of cattle treated with growth hormones, effectively cutting off the market for beef raised in Canada. Fulton believes the hormone-free certification needed to export to the EU is too onerous for many farmers and ranchers.

Another unresolved issue is that the EU doesn’t recognize the Canadian food safety and inspection systems. Processing facilities have to switch their operations for European runs, then switch back to meet requirements for products destined for the North American market. That means extra costs.

“When you think about it this way, a beef carcass can be split up into 300 different products, and only a fraction of them would be desired or in demand in the EU. And so do you go and change your processing techniques and systems to meet the EU requirements when only a fraction of the products that you’re producing are actually destined for there?”

The CCA would like the EU to accept “a full-systems approval” approach, which would mean “effectively taking the principle that says if these are the safety protocols and systems in place to protect Canada’s domestic markets, then it should be robust and trusted enough for the EU,” Fulton explains.

Fulton also mentions a new EU regulation phasing in at the end of this year, requiring proof that certain products, including cattle, sold in or exported to the EU did not come from recently deforested or degraded land.

Both the federal government and its EU counterparts are aware of these issues, according to Fulton, but they haven’t been addressed to date.

“I can’t help but think that the burden of each of these different barriers is almost by design,” Fulton says.

Meanwhile, a major trade imbalance persists. Figures from Statistics Canada show that in 2025, the value of exports of Canadian beef and veal products to the EU was just over $15 million, while EU imports into Canada were worth nearly $100 million. This doesn’t sit well with Fulton.

“We feel we can compete with anybody in the world when it’s a level playing field. And so I would say that that needs to be addressed because I think the spirit of the agreement initially was that there would be reciprocal access, and we’ve not been able to realise that.”

Opportunity for canola comes with challenges

For the Canadian canola sector, the main benefit from CETA has been the elimination of the 9.6 per cent EU tariff on oilseeds. The vast majority of canola exported to the EU is as seeds for use in biofuel production. None is used for human consumption.

“I wouldn’t say it’s conferred any specific advantages for canola, but what I would say is it did help to sort of level the playing field with other feedstocks that are used in renewable fuels production, like soy and palm,” Chris Davison, president and CEO of the Canola Council of Canada, says of CETA.

“We’re all at the same, or zero, tariff rate.”

In 2025, Canada’s canola exports to the EU totalled $1.4 billion, of which $1.1 billion was for seed, according to Davison.

“The European Union is an important and valued market, and in this era that we’ve got, with the current global trading environment, we certainly want to do everything we can to make sure that the established markets we’ve got are working as efficiently as possible.”

Trade figures for Canadian oilseeds look good — it was the second-largest Canadian agricultural import into the EU in 2024, and the commodity that has seen the greatest increase. But Davison says external factors outside CETA account for this.

“We tend to see a fairly high degree of ebb and flow in terms of exports to the European Union of Canadian canola. That’s due to a number of factors, including domestic rapeseed production in the European Union, global supply and demand for canola and rapeseed, but also other oilseeds that are used in biofuels.”

Despite the importance of the market, non-tariff barriers present ongoing challenges. Causing concern at the moment is an EU strategy document, released in February 2025, titled “A Vision for Agriculture and Food: Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations.” It states that the EU will pursue “a stronger alignment of production standards applied to imported products, notably on pesticides and animal welfare” — in other words, tightening rules around imports that use products and practices restricted in EU agriculture, similar to the ban on hormone-treated cattle.

“There are some provisions in there where they’re talking about these so-called mirror clauses and reciprocity policies that are quite concerning in terms of the potential to impose production practices on us and other jurisdictions,” Davison says. “Those are the kind of things we’re keeping an eye on.”

Lack of incentives to pursue EU market

“If you look at CETA overall, I think it has performed well,” says Dr. Crina Viju-Miljusevic, an associate professor at Carleton University in Ottawa who researches European economic integration and the EU’s role as a global actor.

But cooperating on agricultural regulation is slow and difficult, and Viju-Miljusevic does not expect either side to change their production standards just to increase trade.

“I think for Canada, regardless of the relations with the U.S., it’s still highly integrated in the North American market. Taking over some of the EU standards will go against American standards, so then it will restrict trade with the largest trading partner.”

She notes that hopes on the Canadian side — especially in previously highly protected sectors such as beef — that increased EU quotas would incentivize farmers to develop a dedicated European market have not materialized. The investments required simply haven’t proven worthwhile. There has also been little to no usage by Canadian producers of import quotas for pork, sugar products and sweet corn, whereas the EU has used Canada’s cheese quotas to the maximum.

“I think the EU exporters, or EU farmers, have gained more out of this,” Viju-Miljusevic says.

Though many in Canadian ag would agree, some have found sweet success in Europe.

European brand recognition

The Jakeman family has been making maple syrup on their farm in Oxford County, in Beachville, since 1876. Today, in addition to their own, they process maple syrup from over 200 other farms across the province.

“Almost half the supply in Ontario comes through our facility,” company CEO Chad Jakeman says.

Ireland was the first EU country they exported to, starting around 2010, when the pre-CETA eight per cent tariff on maple syrup was still in place. Jakeman says it remains a big market for them. They’ve also done business on a smaller scale in Switzerland and the Netherlands, with EU sales accounting for roughly 10 to 15 per cent of their total.

Jakeman sees opportunities for growth in the European market, but challenges remain. He mentions the consolidation of massive European retail chains such as Lidl and Aldi.

“They make it difficult for companies like mine because they are heavy discounters. They usually do their own label, a private label, so it’s really a battle of price. And while the prize is big, the cost of doing business and the potentially very low margin are the issues. I do plan to go expanding into Europe, but I’m going to have to do it through alternative retail chains that are not giants.”

Jakeman had a taste of the European brand recognition his maple syrup has achieved on a trip to Ireland with his mom. A security official at the airport, checking his passport, remarked, “Jakeman? Oh, like the maple syrup.”

“It blew my mind because I don’t get that here,” he laughs. “I said, ‘Mom, get over here, they know us!’ That was exciting.”

A living agreement

For more Canadian agricultural exports to gain entry past the EU’s borders, Viju-Miljusevic says federal and provincial governments could support farmers by developing assessment centres to evaluate whether products conform to EU rules.

Advocacy, too, remains vital. For nearly 10 years, CETA has been only provisionally in force because 10 EU member states have not yet ratified it. In most of these countries, public concerns centre on Canadian food safety standards and farming practices, as well as protecting their domestic agricultural sectors.

If one of these countries announces it won’t ratify CETA, legally the provisional implementation should stop across all sectors. Viju-Miljusevic believes that the EU would likely find a fix, but it leaves a question mark over the agreement’s future.

“It is important for the Canadian missions in the EU to maintain strong connections with these countries, and continue their advocacy efforts,” she says — whether for full ratification or to maintain the status quo. “All these gains in certain sectors will be lost if we go back to the tariffs.”

One advantage of CETA, Viju-Miljusevic points out, is that it is a living agreement, so changes can be made to it.

Tyler Fulton would like to see changes that benefit Canadian farmers.

“We know that our product is in demand there. Maybe it’s time we really try to tackle some of these issues to reduce the barriers. I think it would represent a goodwill gesture that would serve us both well.” BF