There is Italy as well. Members are welcome to heckle by yelling out more countries because they are hard to keep track of.
However, we are here to talk about the trans-Pacific partnership, TPP-11, because this represents Canada's reassertion of our role as a Pacific nation and the fact that in the last 50 years the Pacific has generated as much wealth than in the previous 100 years.
I had the honour as parliamentary secretary to go on the ground along with Senator Yonah Martin and Barry Devolin, the former MP for Kawartha Lakes, to help secure the final stages of our free trade agreement with South Korea. Now, it is not part of the TPP, but that was our first free trade agreement in Asia. It recognizes that Canada is a Pacific nation.
As the middle class grows in Asia, it is demanding the world's best agricultural products from our country: beef, pork, grain and oil seeds. We are world leaders and Canada is trusted for our high-quality product. My riding's name is Durham, but when world agriculture thinks of durum, it does not think of my riding. It thinks of the wheat developed in Canada. We have been innovators, and our farming families are some of our most committed Canadians to our economy. These trade deals from South Korea to TPP recognize that.
The trans-Pacific partnership with the 11 countries represents almost 500 million consumers. Let us see the wealth that is developed there. China has gone from a country that was considered impoverished 40 years or 50 years ago to being a world-leading economy, the number two economy. I was shocked by the fact that following the Korean War, in which over 500 Canadians died serving and which forged our relationship with that important Asian friend and country, South Korea was one of the largest recipients of food aid. The actions of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and our allies has led to prosperity in that country through security and trade and today it is one of the largest net donors to food aid around the world. In 50 years to 60 years, it is remarkable to go from one of the most impoverished to one of the most successful countries, as well as an ally we can count on.
That is what trade can do. That is what working on trade and security together can do. That is why the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, after three years of banging her head against the wall in a government that is about platitudes and photographs of its leader, of neglecting our trade relationships or insulting our foreign allies and friends, and of withering away the prosperity that Canada enjoys, is sitting on this side.
With TPP we have the ability to access a combined GDP in these countries of almost $14 trillion. As I said at the outset, under the Harper government, many of our trade deals were centred around the importance of our agricultural sectors and industries. This is going to be part of the case. As I said, this will have us accessing markets that are growing, the prosperity that is growing in Vietnam, for example, one of the countries, and in Japan, the world's third-largest economy. They have a high demand for our pork, beef and grains. They are going to see tariff rates reduced. In 10 to 15 years, all tariffs will be reduced off of pork and beef, for instance.
If members go to Seoul, like I did, they will try Korean barbecue. Koreans love pork and beef, and they prefer that it be Canadian. By getting in there when we did, we were able to compete on an even playing ground with Australia and the United States. Our product always wins. We just need fair access.
Wheat and barley will see tariff reductions almost immediately, and canola will see reductions within five years. There will be huge wins for our agricultural sectors.
Representing part of Oshawa, and being the son of someone who worked more than 33 years at General Motors, there have been some concerns on auto. I would refer some of the people who have these concerns to the fact that we have a global supply chain for the auto industry. In fact, the globalization of the auto industry started with Canada and the U.S., with the Auto Pact in 1965, where a vehicle rolling off the line in Oshawa was treated as domestic and tariff-free if sold in the United States.
Since then, since the 1960s, 80% of the vehicles we have assembled in Canada have been sold in the United States, yet the minister did not even mention the auto industry in the NAFTA priority speeches. In fact, the Liberals took six months to put proposals forward on auto. That was a huge failure, and six months were squandered.
Diversification and the trans-Pacific partnership are making sure that our auto parts suppliers and auto companies are competitive and have access to those markets. If there is going to be capital investment and Mexico, our NAFTA partner, is part of the trans-Pacific partnership and we are not, where do members think more investment from global automakers, from auto parts companies will go? It will go to the country that has the best access tariff-free around the world.
We need to be at the table. Forty-five per cent of the vehicles made within the TPP countries, the 11 countries, need to be assembled by the member countries, one of those 11 countries. We need to be part of that.
Who supports that? One of our leading executives, the CEO of Linamar, one of our biggest auto parts companies supports TPP. I will quote what she said:
Perhaps those opposing TPP are afraid of global competition; I am not. I don't agree that it will be a negative for the auto sector.
On the parts side folks are worried about competition from Asia, but I say we have to be competitive on a global basis and will do so based on efficiency, innovation and great products.
Linda Hasenfratz is one of our leading executives. There are companies like hers and companies like Magna. There are some of our global automakers, like Toyota and others, that are assembling in Canada. Toyota has its Canadian parts distribution plant in Clarington in my riding. This is a global industry.
I am glad to see the Liberal Party has signed on to our approach on TPP. I am still a bit confused by the NDP's approach. Conservatives will always stand up and fight for access for our world-class manufacturers, our world-class auto industry and our world-class farmers.