Canada says must work hard to ensure firms benefit from EU deal

By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government will have to work hard to ensure firms can benefit from a landmark free trade deal that Canada has reached with the European Union, Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Monday. After the EU settled a series of internal disputes, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in Brussels on Sunday. Although Freeland introduced legislation in Parliament on Monday to ratify the pact, Canada will have to wait for a vote in the European Parliament before most tariffs are lifted. Canada and the EU have said they expect that vote to take place early next year. Supporters say CETA will increase Canadian-EU trade by 20 percent. But that will happen only if Canadian exporters - who critics complain are often too timid - pick up the pace. "The government is now very, very focused on working with our exporters to be sure they understand the opportunities that this new market holds," Freeland told reporters. The head of a group representing chief executives said Freeland's ministry would have to make "very aggressive efforts" to help small and medium-sized firms, which would otherwise find it difficult to take full advantage of CETA. "Large companies are going to be all over this. The challenge for Canada is always that we don't have enough large companies," said John Manley, president of the Business Council of Canada. Full ratification requires votes in the parliaments of all 28 member nations, a process that could take years. Another challenge for Ottawa is the demand for compensation from agricultural producers who fear increased European imports. Freeland said ministers would decide soon how much to provide. Once the European Parliament ratifies CETA, 98 percent of the agreement will come into effect. One big winner on paper is the cattle industry, which would see its EU beef quota jump from around 1,000 tonnes to 65,000 tonnes. Some producers, though, worry that the EU could put in place non-tariff barriers. "The real question, is it real, and will Europe have another trade restriction in our way?" said John Masswohl, director of government relations at the Canadian Cattlemen's Association. For example, while Canada rinses beef carcasses to reduce the risk of e-coli, the EU currently bans the two rinsing methods used by big Canadian meat-packing firms, effectively excluding them from the market, Masswohl said. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Dan Grebler)