South Korea and Canada have recently signed agreement for a bilateral free trade that will help boost aquaculture trade between the two countries, among other investment ties
The Free Trade Agreement, Canada’s first with an Asian country, eliminates tariffs and reduces non-tariff measures that hinder market access for Canadian exporters and investors in Korea. Once the agreement is fully implemented, South Korea will remove duties on 98.2 per cent of its tariff lines, covering virtually all of Canada’s imports.
The Canada-Korea deal will benefit a wide range of sectors, including industrial goods such as chemicals and plastics, information and communications technology, aerospace, metals and minerals, agricultural and agri-food products, fish and seafood, and wood and forestry products, according to officials.
For the fisheries sector, the trade agreement will diversify export markets by eliminating prohibitive tariffs on fish and seafood entering South Korea. The Canadian provincial government has reserved its right to enforce minimum processing requirements for fish and seafood destined for the South Korean market.
Keith Hutchings, Canadian minister of fisheries and aquaculture, said, “Achieving tariff-free access to the Korean seafood market should strengthen the provincial fishing, aquaculture, and sealing sectors in the coming years by creating even more international demand for Newfoundland and Labrador’s world-class products.”
