Exceptions Clauses in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Between the EU and Canada : A Model for Future 'Mega-Regional' Agreements?

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is certainly the most complex free trade agreement (FTA) ever negotiated by Canada and arguably the most far-reaching ever negotiated by the European Union (EU). Like North American Free Trade Agreement 1994 before it, CETA may well become a model for future mega-regional FTAs. This article explores the seeming paradox that CETA innovates both by its extensive scope and by its very extensive use of exceptions provisions. These exceptions both general and specific are examined. It is argued that these exceptions are needed because, while both parties seek much closer regulatory cooperation, they are also under pressure for legal and political reasons to be seen to preserve regulatory space