CBC: Canada, Japan agree to free-trade talks
Canada and Japan have agreed to enter free-trade talks. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Japanese counterpart made the announcement following a bilateral meeting in Tokyo on Sunday.
The news follows a recently released joint study estimating that such an agreement could mean gains of up to $3.8 billion a year in Canadian gross domestic product, with Canadian exports to Japan increasing by as much as 67 per cent. The Canadian-Japanese report on economic co-operation concluded that a free-trade deal could net billions more for Canada's economy in areas such as aerospace, energy and agriculture.
"But Canada's auto sector is not exactly happy about this," said CBC's Laurie Graham, reporting from Tokyo. "Japanese cars being imported into Canada pay a tariff of about 6%, and there's concern that if there's a free-trade deal that tariff will be lifted, which would mean, conceivable, that Japanese cars would be cheaper in Canada and competition would be a lot tougher.
"The prime minister says his government will do what it can fror Canadian interests, but ultimately he says he has to negotiate a deal that is good for Canada's economy," Graham reported.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/03/25/harper-japan-trade.html
Canada's already involved in trade talks with the EU which is the world's biggest economy if you count it as one economy. Now they're exploring a deal with the Japan, too. Interesting times in our progressive neighbor to the north.
