I will make my presentation in French.
Thank you for inviting me to discuss the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Panama. I will discuss only the part that applies to free trade.
I want to begin by saying that the negotiations on our product, pork, have been fairly complex. That product is a sensitive one for Panama. Despite everything, our negotiators have successfully obtained a comprehensive elimination of tariffs that applied to our products, even though it is over a longer period than what we had seen in other agreements.
We are satisfied with the agreement that has been concluded in terms of our product, as we have maintained very close contact with the negotiators over the course of the negotiations with Panama. We know how difficult it was to obtain concessions from that country. In addition, we applaud the wisdom of our negotiators who succeeded in negotiating a clause that will help us catch up with the Americans once they have been able to implement their free trade agreement. We think that should happen within the next month, once the agreement between the United States and Panama goes into effect.
It should be pointed out that Canada, historically speaking, was Panama's first foreign supplier and maintained that status for a number of years. As the Americans have concluded and finalized an agreement before us, we are losing the competitive advantage we had in that country.
We are also very pleased that the government was able to create coordinating positions though the agreement to help facilitate the resolution of sanitary and phytosanitary issues that could arise between our two countries. As I mentioned, this agreement is very complex. It is actually the most complex one I have ever seen when it comes to pork, regardless of the country. Despite the difficulties our negotiators came across, we are very happy with the final outcome.
However, it is still difficult for us to note that failing to conclude an agreement, not ratifying it on time or ratifying it after our main competitors, does place us in a difficult situation and makes us lose markets. I think you are very familiar with the situation involving South Korea. We were that country's preferred supplier, but since we have still not managed to conclude an agreement, that very substantial market is slipping away from us. In Panama's case, the agreement has been concluded, but it has not been ratified yet, and that puts us in the same situation.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.