The EU and Canada signed a free trade deal that was almost derailed by objections from French-speaking Belgians , exposing the difficulties of securing agreement from 28 member states as Britain prepares for Brexit talks.

The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said there was no parallel between the deal struck with Canada and looming Brexit talks.

Trudeau and top EU officials signed the comprehensive economic and trade agreement, known as Ceta, paving the way for most import duties to be removed early next year. However, the treaty needs the approval of at least 38 national and regional parliaments, including the UK’s, to take full force.

Trudeau was meant to fly to Brussels last Wednesday but he stayed at home when the Wallonia region raised objections that held up agreement until Thursday. Belgium’s regional parliaments endorsed a compromise deal, which addressed concerns about competition for Wallonia’s farmers from Canada, on Friday.

Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, who stood beside Trudeau at a news conference, said the delay was caused by Belgium’s internal politics and that the deal would be far less contentious when it went before national parliaments.

Fox said the UK parliament could still veto the deal and he warned that problems in agreeing Ceta showed the difficulty Britain could face in negotiating a trade agreement with the EU.

Supporters of Ceta say it will increase Canadian-EU trade by 20% and boost the EU economy by €12bn (£10.9bn) a year and Canada’s by C$12bn (£7.4bn).

With free trade under attack from populist movements and anti-globalisation campaigners, the deal reduces Canada’s reliance on the US and gives the EU a first trade pact with a G7 economy when its credibility has taken a knock from Britain’s decision to leave.

Geoffrey Yu, the head of UBS Wealth Management’s UK investment office, said the last-minute delay to the deal, which took seven years to agree, showed how difficult it could be to get a decision in the EU.