MILAN (Reuters) - Italy will not ratify the European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada, its new agriculture minister said on Thursday, ratcheting up an international trade spat and potentially scuppering the EU’s biggest accord in years.

FILE PHOTO: Italy's Minister of Agriculture Gian Marco Centinaio is seen during the sworn-in ceremony at the Quirinal palace in Rome, Italy, June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the first major trade deal the European Union has signed since it began implementing its South Korea agreement in 2011.

All 28 EU member states must approve the agreement for it to take full effect.

In an interview with daily La Stampa, Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said the Italian government would ask the parliament not to ratify the treaty since it does not ensure sufficient protection for the country’s speciality foods.

“We will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of our PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products,” Centinaio told the newspaper.

“Doubts over this agreement are shared by many of my European colleagues.”

The European Commission said it was working closely with EU members to ensure that the trade accord was mutually beneficial.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters in Washington: “I’m confident we will have full ratification in the end, and the important thing is this agreement has entered into force as an economic matter.”

Of the 28 European Union countries, Italy has the most food products with PDO and PGI labels, including Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham. Under CETA, Canada has recognized more than 40 Italian PDO and PGI labels out of a total of 292 for the food-obsessed country.

“WRONG AND RISKY”

Coldiretti, the influential association of Italian agricultural companies, backed Centinaio’s intention, saying in a statement CETA was “wrong and risky” for Italy.

It said Italian food exports, equal to 41 billion euros last year, could triple with a serious fight against international food counterfeiting.

The treaty entered into force on a provisional basis in September 2017, sweeping away tariffs on a large number of goods and widening access to Canadian beef in Europe and EU cheese and wine in Canada.

Its supporters say it would increase trade between the partners by 20 percent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion euros ($14 billion) a year and Canada’s by C$12 billion ($9 billion).

Some farm associations and critics in European states have expressed concerns about the threat of rapidly rising pork and beef imports from Canada. Coldiretti also mentioned risks posed by the annulment of duties on Canadian wheat, a country where the herbicide glyphosate can be used.

Centinaio belongs to the far-right League party and is considered close to its leader and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. Salvini is emerging as the pivot in the new government that the League formed this month with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.

The minister was not immediately available to comment on the interview and it was not possible to get a reaction from the office of the prime minister on the issue.

The government program that forms the basis of the League-5-Star coalition mentioned CETA, saying the executive would oppose “the aspects (of the treaty) that imply an excessive weakening of the protection of citizens’ rights”.

The government’s program also pledged to “protect the highest-quality products of Made in Italy”.

Italy’s challenge to CETA comes after U.S. President Donald Trump backed out of a joint communique agreed by Group of Seven leaders in Canada at the weekend that mentioned the need for “free, fair and mutually beneficial” trade and the importance of fighting protectionism.

The United States has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union and is weighing up the possibility of slapping additional duties on automobile imports.

Trump says his tariffs are meant to protect U.S. industry and workers from unfair international competition as part of his “America First” agenda.</s>MILAN, June 14 (Reuters) - Italy will not ratify the European Union's free trade agreement with Canada because it does not ensure sufficient protection for the country's specialty foods, new Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said in a newspaper interview on Thursday.

Centinaio belongs to the far-right League party that this month formed a government coalition with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement following an inconclusive election in March.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the first major trade deal the European Union has signed up to since it began implementing its South Korea agreement in 2011. All 28 EU member states must approve the accord for it to take effect. (Reporting by Francesca Landini Editing by Gareth Jones)</s>Italy's far-right agriculture minister on Thursday said his government would not ratify an EU-Canada free trade deal, claiming it does not protect his country's farmers.

The European Union and Canada formally signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in October 2016, at a time when anti-globalisation sentiment was on the rise in Europe.

The accord, which has yet to be ratified, eliminates 98 percent of tariffs between the EU and Canada.

Opponents to the accord from around Europe see it as a danger to health, democracy and the rule of law.

Farmers in Italy protested in 2017, demanding that the government refuse to ratify the pact.

CETA's supporters, however, see it as an extension of the global trade system that faces a threat from protectionist US President Donald Trump.

The global system has also come under attack from eurosceptics and anti-establishment parties like those swept to power in Italy in a March vote.

In an interview published in Italian daily La Stampa on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said: "We will not ratify the free-trade agreement with Canada because it only protects a small part of our protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI) produce."

He added: "We will ask parliament not to ratify this treaty or others similar to CETA."

Centinaio said the decision was covered in the joint government contract published by the populist coalition government made up of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League

Centinaio, a League member, said that his decision did not reflect just the nationalist position of his party, but that "doubts over this agreement are common among my European colleagues".</s>MILAN, June 14 (Reuters) - Italy will not ratify the European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada because it does not ensure sufficient protection for the country’s specialty foods, new Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said in a newspaper interview on Thursday.

Centinaio belongs to the far-right League party that this month formed a government coalition with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement following an inconclusive election in March.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the first major trade deal the European Union has signed up to since it began implementing its South Korea agreement in 2011. All 28 EU member states must approve the accord for it to take effect.

CETA will abolish some 98 percent of customs duties, open up public tenders to companies and allow the EU to export more cheese and wine and Canada more pork and beef in quotas that expand over the next six years.

“We will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of our PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products,” Centinaio told Italian daily La Stampa.

In the 28-member European Union, Italy has the highest number of food products that enjoy PDO and PGI labels. (Reporting by Francesca Landini Editing by Gareth Jones)</s>Italy's agriculture minister suggested the country will not ratify a free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, saying that it doesn't do enough to protect the nation's specialty products.

"We will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of our PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products," Gian Marco Centinaio told Italian newspaper La Stampa Thursday, according to comments reported by Reuters.

The snappily-titled PDOs and PGIs promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs. In the 28-member European Union, Italy has the highest number of food products that enjoy these statuses, with 221 products protected. The number includes two products with the label "Traditional Specialty Guaranteed" which doesn't restrict a food item to a specific geographical location, these being mozzarella and Neapolitan pizza.

Centinaio said Italy wanted to "defend the quality of 'Made in Italy' products." Products in Italy with the PDO or PGI status include Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, Sicilian blood oranges, a range of regional cheeses including Grana Padano and Gorgonzola, meats, oils and vegetables, among other products.

Centinaio is a member of the right-wing Lega party which now makes up half of the new coalition government in Italy, along with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement. He said doubts about the agreement were not confined to those within Lega, however, stating that "many of my European colleagues feel the same."

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a major trade deal for the EU and Canada and the national governments (and some regions) of all 28 EU member states must approve the agreement for it to come into effect.

Italy saying it will not ratify the deal represents another stumbling block for fragile relations between Europe and the new euroskeptic and renegade government in Italy. It has already clashed with Europe over spending plans, immigration and the single currency. A spokesperson for the European Commission wasn't immediately available for a response to Centinaio's remarks when contacted by CNBC.</s>Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio, a hardline member of the League party, has said that parliament would not ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which removes duties on 98 per cent of products traded between the EU and Canada, The Times wrote.

“We will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada. Doubts about this deal are common among many of my European colleagues,” Centinaio said in remarks published in Thursday’s issue of the newspaper La Stampa.

The minister also complained that the EU-Canada deal protects only a small part of Italy’s PDO (protected designations of origin) and PGI products (protected geographical indications) which are vital to any nation’s agriculture sector.

Even though Italy’s opposition will not affect the terms of the EU-Canada trade agreement anytime soon, it is still adding to the recent rise in anti-globalist sentiment.

The CETA free-trade agreement between the EU and Canada entered into force provisionally in September 2017 and is the bloc’s first such deal with a fellow member of the Group of Seven nations.

Even though most of the provisions of the EU’s most ambitious trade deal to date, inked in 2016, took effect last year, it still needs to be approved by all EU members’ parliaments to fully go into force.

The CETA agreement ended 98 percent of tariffs on goods at the outset and will eliminate 99 percent after seven years (each side plans to dismantle all industrial tariffs and more than 90 per cent of agricultural duties).

Markets for services and public procurement are also being opened.

READ MORE: The EU's Italy Headache: Crisis Averted or Crisis Deferred?

Italy’s new Eurosceptic coalition government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, drawn from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the right-wing League, is set to set to challenge the EU’s fiscal rules and crack down on immigration.

The new government has also called on the EU to re-establish mutually-beneficial ties with Russia and lift the sanctions imposed on Moscow in wake of Crimea’s’ reunification with Russia in 2014.</s>Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said Thursday she is confident Italy will eventually ratify a sweeping free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union despite opposition to the deal by the new government in Rome.

She was responding to reports that Italy’s Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio said Thursday the Italian government would ask the parliament not to ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) since it does not ensure sufficient protection for the country’s speciality foods.

“We will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of our PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products,” Centinaio said in an interview with daily newspaper La Stampa.

“Doubts over this agreement are shared by many of my European colleagues.”

In the 28-member European Union, Italy has the most food products with PDO and PGI labels, including Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham.

Under CETA, Canada has recognised more than 40 Italian PDO and PGI labels out of a total of 292 for the food-obsessed country.

Speaking to reporters in Washington where she’s meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Freeland said CETA was discussed with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during the recent G7 summit in Charlevoix, Quebec.

“I’m confident that we’ll have full ratification in the end and the important thing is this agreement has entered into force as an economic matter,” Freeland said.

The free trade deal entered into provisional force as of September 2017, sweeping away tariffs on 98 per cent of goods.

“The provisional entry into force means that nearly 100 per cent of real economic impact and benefit of CETA is already being felt by Canadians, by Europeans,” Freeland said.

All 28 EU member states must approve the agreement for it to take full effect.

“I would also like to point out that this week brought some good news on CETA front because Austria has now ratified CETA,” Freeland said. “And I’d like to remind people that during the initial CETA process, Austria was one of the European countries that we had to have some good conversations to get them there.”

Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal and Spain have already ratified the agreement.</s>Italy’s agriculture minister said his country’s new government won’t ratify the Canada-European Union free trade accord, media reports said Thursday. Gian Marco Centinaio, whose government is led by a populist coalition, also insisted he’s heard doubts about the 28-country deal from many of his European colleagues.

Freeland noted that Austria was initially reluctant to ratify CETA, but eventually came around.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, in Washington on Thursday to try to jump start stalled NAFTA negotiations, told reporters she believes Italy will eventually sign on to the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, or CETA.

The development adds to Canada’s collection of trade challenges, which already include deep uncertainty surrounding the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, hefty steel and aluminum tariffs imposed recently by the United States and the threat of more to come on automobiles.

Ninety-eight per cent of CETA came into effect last September on a provisional basis. The deal was settled in 2016 after years of talks, but all EU nations must now vote on it independently.

“I’m confident we will have full ratification at the end,” said Freeland, who added she had a “good” conversation about CETA with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during last weekend’s G7 summit in Quebec.

NAFTA, however, was the main topic of discussion for Freeland on Thursday during an hour-long meeting with U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer.

Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will continue negotiating NAFTA through the summer, although specific dates haven’t been set, she said.

“We’re going to make a real push over the summer,” said Freeland, who called the meeting “constructive.”

“I think all three countries are clear that meaningful progress has been made to date and we need to keep working hard to get to a deal.”

Several Canadian cabinet ministers have been reaching out to their American counterparts this week in an effort to advance NAFTA talks and to persuade the Trump administration to back down from his steel and aluminum tariffs.

Lighthizer and Freeland also discussed the tariffs, which have been at the centre of an increasingly ugly dispute between the U.S. and many of its closest allies, including Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the tariffs “insulting” because they are based on the premise Canada poses a national security risk to the U.S. and has announced dollar-for-dollar retaliatory duties on a wide range of American imports. Trudeau’s push back earned him an unprecedented personal attack from Trump and his emissaries after the G7 summit.

The EU and other countries have also threatened retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. The Canadian countermeasures are to go into effect July 1.

During her meeting with Lighthizer, Freeland said she underlined Canada’s concerns over what she calls the “illegal” national-security consideration.

“I was very clear about that. I’m confident that Ambassador Lighthizer heard and understood that,” she said.

“The Canadian strategy on the tariffs was, and will continue to be, that we will not escalate and we also will not back down.”

Brian Kingston of the Business Council of Canada was encouraged to hear the NAFTA talks could continue this summer. He said staying at the table could lead to progress on smaller issues while the process navigates the upcoming Mexican presidential election and the U.S. congressional mid-terms, which are both expected to slow things down.

“You can kind of clear out that undergrowth, take brackets off texts and get to a point where we’ve just got those big issues and we can make a deal,” said Kingston, the council’s vice-president of international and fiscal policy.

On CETA, Kingston said the comments from Italy were “concerning.” But he noted its provisional implementation means the commercial benefits are already being realized and that there’s no set timeline for E.U. states to ratify.

Without ratification, however, the agreement’s investment provisions and its investor court system won’t come into force, he said.

“Obviously, for certainty reasons, people prefer this to be done relatively quickly,” said Kingston, whose group represents many of Canada’s largest corporations.

“Companies always benefit from having investment certainty when they’re entering into a market. So, having those investment provisions would be absolutely beneficial.”

International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne visited Italy a few days ago to sell the merits of CETA to the new Italian government, which took power on June 1.

On Thursday, Champagne said 12 countries have already ratified the deal and he argued Italy’s exports to Canada are up eight per cent since the provisional agreement came into effect. He called it a “gold standard” deal because it offers protections for the environment and labour rights.

Champagne also introduced legislation Thursday in Parliament in support of the controversial 11-nation, Pacific Rim trade pact, which is known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ottawa attracted criticism for the move as groups, including the United Steelworkers and Council of Canadians, warned the CPTPP is a business-friendly deal that will give multinationals the power to sue governments in Canada.

“The Liberal government is set to fast-track Canada’s inclusion in the TPP, while most Canadians know little about the impact of this secretly negotiated trade agreement,” United Steelworkers national director Ken Neumann said in a statement.

“It will worsen inequality, further erode Canada’s manufacturing and industrial base. It will eliminate more middle-class jobs, increase drug prices and drive down wages, working conditions and environmental standards.”</s>Italy’s Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio is reported as saying Italy won’t ratify the Canada-European Union free trade accord and that he’s heard doubts about it from many of his European colleagues.

The development adds to Canada’s significant trade challenges — which already include deep uncertainty surrounding the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement and hefty steel and aluminium tariffs imposed recently by the United States.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, in Washington to try to jump start stalled NAFTA negotiations, says she’s confident Italy will eventually sign on to the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, or CETA.

A spokesman for Francois-Philippe Champagne says the international trade minister visited Italy a few days ago to sell the merits of CETA to Italy’s populist government, which took power on June 1.

Following an hour-long meeting with U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer, Freeland says Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will continue negotiating NAFTA through the summer.

“We didn’t set specific dates today,” she said Thursday. “We did very much, though, agree … that NAFTA talks continue and that we’re going to make a real push over the summer.”

Freeland is one of several federal cabinet ministers that have been reaching out to their American counterparts this week in an effort to advance NAFTA talks and to persuade the Trump administration to back down from the tariffs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the tariffs “insulting” because they are based on the premise Canada poses a national security risk to the U.S. — which earned him an unprecedented personal attack from President Donald Trump and his emissaries after last weekend’s G7 summit in Quebec.

On the reports about Italy’s possible rejection of CETA, Freeland noted that Austria was initially reluctant to ratify CETA, but eventually came around. And she predicted Italy will do the same.

“I’m confident we will have full ratification at the end,” she said.

Champagne made a case to Italy about the deal’s benefits, his spokesman Pierre-Oliver Herbert wrote in an email Thursday.

CETA was settled in 2016 after more than seven years of talks — but all 28 member nations of the European Union must now vote on it independently.

Herbert said 98 per cent of CETA went into effect across the E.U. last September. The Trudeau government refers to it as the “most progressive” deal ever negotiated.

“The minister was in Italy just a few days ago where he conveyed the benefits to the new government and together with those 12 nations who have already taken the step to ratify domestically,” Herbert said.

“We want every worker to know this is a deal that puts them first.”</s>In a week where Italy threatened to blow up the Canada-European Union free trade deal and the U.S. formally imposed $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, there was actually some good news for Canadian farmers.

The federal government brought forward legislation yesterday to enact the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.

The deal, better known as the TPP, is an 11 nation trade agreement that includes the key country of Japan.

Canada and the other 10 countries signed the agreement in March but it doesn’t take effect until six nations ratify the deal. More accurately, it takes effect six months after six nations ratify the deal.

Commodity groups representing Canada’s pork, canola and wheat industries praised Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who introduced the legislation needed to ratify the deal.

“Minister Champagne has shown great leadership in advocating for the CPTPP,” said Rick Bergmann, Canadian Pork Council chair and a hog producer from Manitoba.

“Ensuring our industry has access to diverse and growing markets is more important than ever. We are asking all members of the House of Commons to quickly ratify this agreement.”

Commodity groups and ag industry reps have been urging the federal government to ratify the CPTPP quickly because speed does matter for Canadian farmers.

Other nations in the CPTPP are moving forward with ratification and it’s possible that six countries could approve the deal by the end of 2018.

If Canada is not among the first six, countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Mexico will enjoy lower tariffs and the benefits of CPTPP before Canadian exporters. Plus, they’ll have the advantage of establishing new business relationships in key markets such as Japan.

For instance, Japan imposes a tariff on Canadian beef of 38.5 percent, or in some cases 50 percent. In the first year of the CPTPP that tariff would drop to 27.5 percent and eventually sink to nine percent.

Estimates suggest that the tariff reduction could boost Canadian beef sales to Japan by $200 million annually in the short term.

“This is probably the most significant trade deal since NAFTA,” said Dennis Laycraft, executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Moving ahead with legislation for CPTPP came on the same day that Italy’s new agriculture minister said his country would not ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Gian Marco Centinaio told an Italian newspaper that CETA doesn’t protect Italy’s specialty foods, such as cheeses and meats.

“We will not ratify the free trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of our PDO (protected designation of origin) and PGI (protected geographical indication) products,” Centinaio said, as reported by Deutsche Welle, Germany’s national broadcaster.

Italy produces hundreds of food products with PDO and PGI labels, such as Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham.

Centinaio claimed the free trade deal will hurt Italian farmers and the country’s food industry because counterfeit products could threaten legitimate Italian foods.

CETA came into effect last year and Canada’s meat industry believes it will open up new markets for Canadian beef and pork. However, all EU nations have to ratify the deal, so the news out of Italy is concerning.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade strategy was on full display this morning.

The White House said it would proceed with a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. Trump proposed the tariffs earlier this spring but Friday’s move formalizes the decision. The tariffs, on more than a 1,000 categories of Chinese goods, will take effect July 6.

China will likely respond and act on its proposed tariffs on American ag commodities, such as soybeans.

“For American farmers this isn’t theoretical anymore, it’s downright scary,” said Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, a lobby group.

“It’s no longer a negotiating tactic, it’s a tax on their livelihoods. Within days, soybean, corn, wheat and other American farmers are likely to be hit with retaliatory tariff of up to 25 percent on exports that keep their operations afloat. When they do, they (farmers) are not going to remain silent.”
Italian Minister of Agriculture Gian Marco Centinaio says the Italian government will not ratify the EU–Canada free-trade agreement since, according to him, the agreement does not provide sufficient protection for Italy's specialty foods.