On 30 October, the Council of the European Union approved CETA, the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada. The next step will be ratification by the European Parliament (with the INTA Committee vote scheduled for 24 January and the plenary vote in February 2017) and the Canadian Parliament. Once this is achieved, the Agreement can enter into provisional application, indicatively by the beginning of March. With the provisional entry into force, tariff and non-tariff barriers will be eliminated immediately. For the final entry into force of the Agreement, however, ratification by all national parliaments of the Member States will be required.

This is the first agreement of its kind signed between the EU and a G7 country, and it is among the most significant in terms of the ambition of its objectives and its scope. The chapters of the Agreement of primary interest to Italian industry concern the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers (in particular, the removal of duties on over 99% of goods and regulatory convergence); the opening of the public procurement market (at both federal and sub-federal levels); and the protection of Intellectual Property (specifically the recognition of geographical indications and the fight against Italian sounding products).

The progress of the process will also depend on the ruling of the EU Court of Justice, which is due to rule on the EU-Singapore treaty.

The ruling, expected next spring, should establish whether a similar treaty falls under exclusive European competence or whether, as it also deals with investments and access to the services market, it should be classified as "mixed", thus requiring the approval of national and some regional parliaments.

The fate of CETA and other "new generation" free trade agreements will therefore depend on this ruling, starting with the one with Vietnam, which was signed on 4 August and is awaiting approval by the Council and the European Parliament.

At the moment, the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) is at a standstill. After 15 negotiating rounds, the last of which concluded in July, talks have stalled, partly due to the recent election of Donald Trump.

European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström stated in Milan on 18 November, during a meeting on European trade policy, that before proceeding, it is necessary to understand the official position of the new American President, who has never explicitly commented on the TTIP.

Multilateral agreements such as the TISA (Trade in Services Agreement) and the EGA (Environmental Goods Agreement) are also nearing completion.

TISA is currently being negotiated among 23 WTO members, including the EU. Together, these countries account for 70% of global trade in services. TISA aims to promote market opening and improve rules in sectors such as licensing, financial services, telecommunications, e-commerce, maritime transport, and the temporary movement of workers abroad for the provision of services.

Talks officially began in March 2013, and 21 rounds of negotiations have taken place up to November 2016. Negotiations are progressing satisfactorily, but no deadline for their conclusion has yet been set.

As for the EGA negotiations, they currently involve 17 WTO countries, including the EU and China. The agreement aims to make green technologies more accessible. "Environmental goods" include various products and services for waste management, air pollution control, water management and treatment, and clean and renewable energy.

The agreement is in the process of being finalised, although a strong disagreement remains between the EU and China, which would like to add bicycles to the list of goods to be liberalised. The EU opposes this, as it would significantly penalise Italian and French manufacturers.

There is also disagreement over some wood products; however, negotiators remain optimistic and hope to conclude the agreement by the end of the year.