Let me turn, Mr. Chair.... You said in your remarks, Minister, that for the Prime Minister trade is a priority. Based on results, Mr. Minister, I would have to say heaven help us if the Prime Minister makes some other issues a priority, because the results are not there in terms of trade. Mr. Davies, using a Library of Parliament analysis, clearly showed the results are not there. You outlined a number of discussions, but the fact of the matter is that in 39 of the last 52 months, we had a trade deficit. That's not really very successful.
If I could, I want to come to the Canada-South Korea negotiation. In regard to this one, we're not gaining results; we're losing results. You will know that negotiations started under the previous government in 2005. It's currently a billion-dollar market—or was, not now—for Canadian beef and hogs. I happened to be in the United States at a meeting which Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack was at. All he could talk about was—blowing up and down—how the beef industry in the United States was taking markets from Canada in the South Korean market.
If I go to your plans and priorities, what it states for this year is, “advance free trade negotiations with Japan and South Korea”. Mr. Minister, advancing is not enough. Why is the government not concluding a deal with South Korea? Since the Americans have their agreement, we're falling behind.
Second to that, I would add you indicated previously on the Canada-European trade agreement that it would be done in December. Now we're in the same position on CETA vis-à-vis the United States as we were in South Korea. They're into negotiations. It seems to me we're playing second fiddle to the United States on CETA.
When can we expect CETA to be signed? When are your negotiators going to conclude a South Korea agreement so that we're not falling behind the U.S.?