Mr. Speaker, the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement, CETA, is an historic accomplishment that will benefit hard-working Canadians across our great country.
CETA will be good for Canadian companies eager to expand their businesses in Europe, good for attracting jobs and creating investment in Canada, and definitely good for the one in five Canadians whose jobs depend on trade.
Free and open markets have long contributed to Canada's prosperity. In fact, since the coming into effect of the historic North American free trade agreement, NAFTA, 4.5 million jobs have been created in Canada and our country's annual income has risen by nearly $1 trillion. These figures speak for themselves.
CETA is our most ambitious, comprehensive and far-reaching trade initiative ever. Accordingly, we expect that CETA will create jobs, prosperity, and opportunities for Canadians that go well beyond what was achieved under the NAFTA.
The reason is threefold. First, the European market is larger and more integrated than the North American market under NAFTA. The EU market has some 28 member states, over 500 million consumers, and annual economic activity of almost $18 trillion. The EU is the world's largest single integrated economy. It is also the world's largest import market for goods. The fact that total imports by the EU totalled $2.3 trillion in 2012, half a trillion more than Canada's total economic activity of that same year, means that the EU represents a stable, long-term growth opportunity for Canada's world-class exports.
Second, through CETA, our government has managed to achieve unprecedented access to Europe's large and lucrative markets. For example, approximately 98% of all EU tariff lines will be duty free on the first day CETA comes into force. By comparison, only 29% of tariff lines were duty free on the first day that NAFTA took effect.
For my riding of Oshawa, home to General Motors Canada, CETA will provides historic new market access opportunities for the automotive sector, and will allow significant increases in exports to Europe. The removal of tariffs, along with flexible rules of origin, will benefit vehicle and auto parts producers alike.
This unprecedented access is perhaps most impressive in the agricultural sector, where duties on 93.6% of the EU's agricultural tariff lines will be eliminated on the day that CETA takes effect. This is an extraordinary accomplishment considering that only 18% of EU agricultural tariffs are currently duty free.
This impressive new access to the world's largest market will benefit hard-working Canadians across our country. For example, the elimination of EU tariffs in the agricultural sector and the fish and seafood sector will mean that lobster fishermen in the Maritimes, maple syrup producers in Quebec, apple growers in Ontario, grain producers on the Prairies, cherry growers in British Columbia, and Arctic char farmers in Yukon who export to the EU will gain first mover advantage in the EU market compared to exporters from countries that do not have free trade agreements with the EU.
Finally, CETA will provide Canadian goods, services, and investment with a competitive advantage over our international competitors, including the United States. When CETA comes into force, Canada will be the only G7 country with preferential access to both the massive U.S. economy, itself valued at $16 trillion, and the European Union.
It is no wonder that individuals, businesses, governments, and other stakeholders from all parts of this country are heralding CETA as a historic win for Canada. Do not take my word for it. The Standing Committee on International Trade recently submitted a report on CETA that is full of examples of Canadian businesses and stakeholders eager to take advantage of CETA's many benefits. For example, the committee heard testimony from Canadian business leaders praising CETA's opening of new partnerships and technology, development in technology licensing, manufacturing, distribution, and investment opportunities.
These new opportunities will help Canada diversify its trade and reduce its dependence on the United States while ensuring that Canadian businesses will continue to benefit from any more favourable treatment the EU may grant the United States on rules of origin, services liberalization, and recognition of standards in any agreement that they reach.
From the services and information communication technology sectors, the committee has heard business leaders laud CETA as a new generation trade agreement that will provide improved access to various services in the EU, including engineering, and professional and environmental services, by addressing the majority of the tariff and, more importantly, non-tariff barriers to trade and investment.
From Canada's world-leading agricultural and agrifood sector, the committee heard that CETA will result in $1.5 billion in new Canadian agrifood exports to the EU. It will be worth more than $600 million to Canadian beef producers and will increase Canadian pork exports to the EU by $400 million a year.
These clear and direct messages of support from Canadian business leaders across various sectors of the economy are a testament to the government's unprecedented transparent and collaborative approach to CETA.
We have ensured that industries' interests were represented by consulting Canadian stakeholders across a wide spectrum of sectors throughout the negotiations. We have also promptly published summaries of the deal, including detailed information on goods, services, investment, government procurement, intellectual property, and other areas to explain how CETA can benefit Canadians and businesses, even while the technical details of the agreement were still being worked out.
We have also provided details on how CETA will benefit key sectors of our economy, including advanced manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, information and communications technology, and others. All of this information has long been available and remains accurate in light of the final negotiated text, which was placed online for all Canadians to see, in conjunction with the Canada-EU summit marking the end of negotiations on September 26, 2014.
Governments from Canada's provinces and territories have also been crucial partners throughout the negotiations and have publicly expressed support for CETA, because they are confident that this deal represents their best interests. We committed to the spirit of openness and transparency from the onset, and we will continue in the same spirit as we move forward with the next steps to bring CETA into force.
We will continue to develop a range of tools to inform Canadians on key areas covered in CETA and how they can benefit. This will include national outreach and meetings with businesses and stakeholders across Canada to share information about the benefits of CETA, to ensure that Canadians understand the vast opportunities provided by CETA and that Canadian businesses have the tools and support they need to take advantage of CETA's many benefits as soon as possible.
The comprehensive information provided by the government underscores our commitment to transparency. It is, no doubt, our extensive consultations and collaborative approach to CETA that have helped to engender the enthusiastic support from the broad range of stakeholders called to testify before the committee and from Canadians from all parts of the country.
These Canadians already recognize the immense opportunities presented by CETA, and we are committing to continuing to provide all stakeholders with the information and support they need to take full advantage of our most ambitious and comprehensive trade initiative ever. By doing so, our Conservative government will continue to demonstrate not only its commitment to transparency, but also its commitment to ensuring that CETA delivers on its promise to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and sustain long-term prosperity for all Canadians.