The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA)

Transcript:
Canada has negotiated the Canada-Korea
Free Trade Agreement.
It is projected to boost our economy by $1.7 billion,
creating thousands of jobs for hard-working Canadians.
It will also serve as a gateway into
the larger Asia-Pacific region.
Meet Bill Wymenga and Bruce Pollock,
two Canadian business people who will benefit.
This is what they have to say about the
Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
I'm a pork producer here in Chatham-Kent.
I produce market hogs for Conestoga Meats.
Our company is an exporter of structural building materials -
lumber and panel products that go to overseas markets,
mainly the Pacific Rim.
In our case, we've figured that this would be worth
about five dollars per hog.
If I ship twenty-two hundred market hogs a year,
that's over ten thousand just in my own personal pocket, and
I'm not a very large producer so this is very significant.
If you add that number across Canada where we have
over 21 million hogs, that are marketed per year,
we're talking something over a 100 million dollars.
The tariff for products from America are 7.2%, ours are 8%.
When we look at what's going to happen over the next five years,
because of the U.S. Free Trade Agreement with Korea,
theirs will drift to zero and ours will stay the same.
How can we compete with an 8% disadvantage?
The South Korean market has been very important
for us in the past.
It's been one of our top five markets that we export
our product into and it's a valuable market for us.
We want to have the same opportunities that other
companies enjoy in other countries.
Nothing says long-term than having your federal government
involved to help strike a free trade agreement to ensure
your competitiveness in the marketplace.
With the landmark Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement now
concluded, Canadian businesses and workers - people like Bill
Wymenga and Bruce Pollock - will benefit significantly
from increased market access to one of the most
dynamic markets in Asia.
Make South Korea your market.
Your gateway to Asia.