European and Canadian textile associations call for stronger CETA use at EU–Canada Summit
By Press Club
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European textile and apparel association Euratex, the Canadian Textile Industry Association (CTIA) and the Canadian Apparel Federation (CAF) have issued a joint statement calling for closer transatlantic cooperation in the sector. The statement coincides with the EU–Canada Summit in Montréal on October 29 and 30.
The three associations are urging EU and Canadian leaders to use the summit to strengthen implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which has been provisionally applied since September 2017.
Trade still has room to grow
According to the associations, EU exports of textiles and clothing to Canada came close to 997 million euros in 2025, while imports from Canada reached 147 million euros. In the first half of 2026, EU exports rose 5.7 percent year-over-year to 702 million euros.
The groups say small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up most of the sector, are not yet making full use of CETA. Citing European Commission figures, they note that the preference utilisation rate for EU exports to Canada rose from 38.7 perc...