EU-Canada free trade deal clears hurdle in Dutch parliament

The European Union's free trade agreement with Canada cleared a political hurdle on Tuesday when a slim majority of lawmakers in the Dutch Lower House voted to ratify the contested deal. Ratification by the traditionally pro-free trade Netherlands remains uncertain, however, as opponents of the deal still have the upper hand in the country's Senate, which will get the final say at a later stage.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been provisionally in force since September 2017, but so far has only been ratified by 13 of the 27 EU countries and Canada.