International Trade committee  That's a good question, and it's one of the objectives I have next week, to discuss timelines with Japan. From a Canadian standpoint, we'd like to move this forward as quickly as possible, but it takes two to tango in a negotiation, and we know that both countries have very full

International Trade committee  I think that's one of the sectors where we would hope to see some of the strongest gains. I think the average level of Japanese tariffs is around 4%. The average tariff in the forestry sector is around 3.4%, but there are peaks as high as 10%. In a low-margin business like forest

International Trade committee  Basically, the non-tariff issues we would be addressing in I think three main areas of the agreement. We would hope to have a chapter on technical barriers to trade, where we would hope to go beyond the commitments in the WTO agreement on technical barriers to trade. In the agr

International Trade committee  The difference between these tariffs?

International Trade committee  When one refers to non-tariff barriers, it means things like regulation and technical barriers. In the agricultural sector this can sometimes refer to sanitary and phytosanitary measures, or SPS. It can mean several things, such as customs procedures. In the context of a free tra

International Trade committee  We are fairly optimistic. In the course of our discussions in the context of the joint study, the approach seems to have been similar to the one used in free trade agreements we have signed in the past. This is also the case for Japan. It is a very complex country, which implies

International Trade committee  These are the two provinces which made a written submission, but I do not think they specified in relation to which products. In the west, that would involve forestry products and manufacturing, and in Quebec, there would be a whole range of products.

International Trade committee  Yes, as well as the manufacturing, aerospace, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. There are a lot of opportunities in Quebec and in the west.

International Trade committee  Do you mean the Trans-Pacific Partnership?

International Trade committee  We are pursuing both agreements simultaneously. We would really like to be part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Japan is also holding consultations to participate in the partnership. We believe that it is worth pursuing bilateral negotiations at the same time. There is no g

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for that. I am not aware of the specifics of that issue. I will certainly brief myself on it, and you can be confident that we'll be carrying that into the discussions.

International Trade committee  Well, the concerns that have been expressed.... And you're right: to my knowledge, the CAW has opposed all trade initiatives the government has taken. It was expressed as a concern that trade liberalization with Japan would lead to job losses. That's why the government felt that

International Trade committee  The EU.

International Trade committee  I should be clear. The study looked at all three, but the numbers I presented were for the impact only of Japan. But the numbers in the study exist for Korea, for Japan, or for the EU, and for all three together. Under any scenario, the impact is well under 1% of production in Ca

International Trade committee  I think the biggest issue we've had with Japan relates to measures put in place in the wake of BSE. Right now, we have access to beef from cattle under 21 months. We've been seeking an expansion of that for quite some time, and we're pleased that the issue now is before the Japan