Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to talk about the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement. This agreement has been a long time getting back to the floor of the House. Quite frankly, we were worried that perhaps it would just be held up forever, in particular by the NDP. However, that is not going to be the case. Parliamentarians will finally get a chance to debate and vote on this important issue.
The implementation of the free trade agreement is a priority, as all free trade agreements are a priority for the Government of Canada. It demonstrates our commitment to helping Canadian businesses compete in markets abroad. Pursuing bilateral and regional trade agreements is essential to bringing continued prosperity to Canadians.
In light of the recent difficult economic times, expanding trade and investment relations through improved market access is more important than ever. Opening our market and pursuing preferential access abroad sends a clear signal that protectionism is not the right way to achieve increased global stability and prosperity. We cannot ignore this global economic downturn that our country has been caught up in, along with the rest of the world. The only way to find our way out of this global economic downturn is through increased trade, increased jobs for Canadians, and increased opportunities for Canadian businesses.
In particular, this free trade agreement demonstrates a commitment by our government to expand opportunities for Canadian businesses. In this age of fierce competition, emerging economies continue to climb the value chain and establish themselves in a wide range of sectors. This is why we continue to seek out more trade and investment opportunities for Canadian businesses and to level the playing field for our companies in an ever more complex and competitive commercial environment.
This government recognizes those challenges, and I am proud to say that we continue to take concrete steps to support the development of these new opportunities. The Canada-Colombia free trade agreement, along with the parallel agreements on the environment and labour co-operation, is essential to our larger commitment to free trade, and more broadly, to Canada's foreign policy goals.
Canada has already established free trade agreements with the United States and Mexico under NAFTA, and agreements with Israel, Chile, and Costa Rica. Our government took the initiative to implement new free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association, Peru, and Jordan in 2009. In continuing with our successful trade efforts, this government also signed a free trade agreement with Panama, on May 14, 2010.
We continue to look ahead to other key global partners, including the European Union. We are also committed to advancing economic co-operation through our ongoing free trade negotiations with other partners, including South Korea, the Ukraine, the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, the Caribbean community, and the Dominican Republic. This further illustrates this government's ambitious and active trade agenda.
Our government is dedicated to pursuing trade relationships that work for Canadians. Moving forward with building economic relationships, we are working to launch negotiations with new partners, such as Morocco. We are also continuing to enhance our great relationships with India and Japan.
Why is an ambitious trade agreement important to Canada? By eliminating barriers to trade and investment, our government is building new opportunities for Canadian businesses in global markets by helping them compete in an increasingly competitive and interdependent world. As a result, these actions stimulate the Canadian economy. By passing the free trade agreement with Colombia, we are helping Canadian businesses compete on the international stage.
Upon its implementation, Colombia will eliminate tariffs on nearly all current Canadian exports, including wheat, pulses, a variety of paper products, certain machinery, plastics, vehicles, and furniture. In addition, the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement will expand opportunities for Canadian investors and service providers.
Canada already values Colombia as a significant trading partner. In 2009, two-way trade with Colombia was more than $1.3 billion. We recognize that Colombia is an established and expanding market for Canadian products. Since 2005, Canadian merchandise exports have increased by over 55%, reaching over $600 million in 2009.
Colombia is also a strategic destination for Canadian investment. The overall stock of Canadian investment in Colombia has reached $1.1 billion.
In promoting this active trade agenda, our government recognizes that Colombia is a strategic destination for Canadian direct investment in mining and oil exploration, among other sectors.
Canadian companies are seeing a lot of potential in the Americas, and this free trade agreement will assist them in maximizing their opportunities. Furthermore, Canadians can offer much expertise. Services such as engineering, mining, energy, and financial services are areas in which Canadian businesses can thrive. Our government recognizes that these sectors are the mainstay of our economy in all communities across this country.
With rapid growth in the Colombian economy in recent years, Canadian companies have made important investments, and Canadian exporters of industrial goods have found ample export opportunities.
This agreement is an important achievement for Canadian exporters, as Colombia has signed a similar free trade agreement with the United States, Canada's main competitor in the Colombian market. Once in place, that agreement would place Canadian exporters at a significant tariff disadvantage compared with their U.S. competitors if Canada's own free trade agreement with Colombia were not implemented in a timely manner.
As well, Colombia recently concluded negotiations with the European Union, and that agreement could enter into force as early as 2011. Colombia is determined to pursue ambitious free trade opportunities with others. Our government will not stand by and put Canadian companies at a disadvantage. We will fight to ensure that businesses have what they need to compete abroad.
There are benefits in this agreement for all regions across Canada, with significant exports to Colombia coming from all regions. For example, the elimination of Colombian tariffs on most machinery and industrial goods, especially mining equipment, which generally range from 12% to 25%, will help Ontario and Quebec exporters maintain and expand their competitiveness compared to suppliers from other countries. I will give the House a personal example that applies to machinery.
I have a fabricating company in my riding in Nova Scotia that makes deepwater equipment for the oil and gas industry. It works in partnership with another company in Calgary. The company is looking at producing the equipment they presently ship to Colombia in Mexico, because Mexico has no tariff on equipment shipped to Colombia. This Canadian company is paying 15%, so we are penalizing it by 15% for trade that it is already carrying on with Colombia. This free trade agreement would allow it to compete on a level footing, and that will certainly help its business opportunities and its potential in Colombia.
The immediate removal of tariffs on wheat and pulses, Canada's main agricultural exports to Colombia, will greatly benefit the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba by making these products more competitive in Colombian markets. On that point, let me comment.
On red beans, we currently pay a 50% tariff. Red beans are a significant source of protein. The ability to bring those beans into Colombia in three or four years' time, tariff-free, because there will be a gradual elimination of that tariff, would allow Colombians to access cheaper and more available food. It is not just food, it is good food. It is food that is easy to store, and food that is high in protein. All Colombians will be able to access more nutritious food. With more nutritious food, men and women who are working can do a better job, and the youth of the country can prosper, attend school, get educated, and find jobs in an economy that is growing. They will be able to move forward with the rest of the world. Colombia has sorely been waiting to take its place among the nations of the world.