European Shipowners Back EU, Canada Trade Agreement

The CETA agreement will boost trade considerably between the EU and Canada. It will cut customs duties and open new markets for shipping companies such as dredging, movement of empty containers and certain transportation between Canadian ports.

"It is important for the EU to sign ambitious trade agreements such as CETA, especially in the current political climate where global and open trade is put under pressure," commented Niels Smedegaard, president of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA).

"We therefore were pleased to hear European Commission President Mr. Juncker's plan to strenghten Europe’s trade agenda, announced last week in his State of the Union Address. As representatives of one of the most globalised European businesses we could not agree more,” Smedegaard said.

“Shipping needs global trade to exist and global trade cannot exist without an efficient shipping industry. Around 80 percent of world trade in goods is carried by the international shipping industry and European shipowners control 40 percent of the world’s merchant fleet and operate shipping services all over the world. We also support the plan announced last week by President Juncker to set up a Group of Experts on EU Trade Agreements, and we would certainly be ready to provide our expertise on the matter,” Smedegaard concluded.