The European Union (Definition of Treaties) (Canada Trade Agreement) Order 2018

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order declares the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (“CETA”) between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part, to be an EU Treaty as defined in section 1(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. The principal effect of declaring CETA to be an EU Treaty is that the provisions of section 2 of that Act (which provide for the implementation of EU Treaties) apply to it.

The European Union and its Member States and Canada signed CETA in Brussels, Belgium on 30th October 2016.

Article 2 of this Order provides that the Order will come into force when CETA enters into force for the United Kingdom. CETA has been provisionally applied since 21st September 2017. The date on which CETA will enter into force for the UK is the date on which that agreement enters into force for all Parties to it. This is the first day of the second month following the date on which those Parties exchange written notifications certifying that they have completed their respective internal requirements and procedures, or on such other date as the Parties may agree. At that point, CETA will become legally binding on its Parties.

A full impact assessment has been carried out for CETA which examines the impact of the agreement on the UK’s industry and on the UK’s consumers. It is available by post from the Department for International Trade at 3 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2AW or from the Department for International Trade’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-trade.