Canada has approved a free trade agreement with Ukraine

The House of Commons of Canada adopted a draft law on an updated free trade agreement with Ukraine, which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed back in September. This is reported by the CBC, writes epravda.com.ua.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau

As noted, the draft law was adopted despite objections from the conservative opposition, which was dissatisfied with the provision on "carbon pricing".

"In order for this trade agreement to be implemented, Ukraine must agree to introduce a tax on carbon emissions. This is not something we can support," said Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer.

The trade agreement does not impose obligations on the Ukrainian government to introduce a tax on carbon emissions. It includes a provision that the two countries will cooperate to "promote carbon pricing and measures to reduce the risks of carbon leakage."

Previously, Forbes Ukraine noted that there are also other topics that cause concern in Canada's opposition, in particular:

• The agreement does not contain a chapter on energy and energy security, in particular, it does not take into account the interests of Canadian companies that are ready to export LNG gas, small modular nuclear reactors and uranium.
• Too much text and not enough time to analyze it for the presence of non-tariff barriers, in particular for Canadian companies.
• Lack of understanding of how products sent to/from the temporarily occupied territories will be qualified under the updated agreement.
• The vote came on the same day as a poll was released showing that support for Ukraine is waning among a growing number of Canadians, particularly among conservative voters.

A survey by the Angus Reid Institute found that a quarter of Canadians believe Canada is providing "too much support" to Ukraine in its fight with Russia, up from 13 percent who said the same in May 2022.

Next, the bill must pass the Senate of Canada.

We will remind:

In October, Canada's Minister of Foreign Trade, Export Support, Small Business and Economic Development, Mary Ing, presented the text of the modernized free trade agreement (FTA) with Ukraine in parliament.

Read also on Newsky "The European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a preliminary agreement on €50 billion for Ukraine" and look at "Boring Pence" YouTube channels.

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