Industry committee  There's no question that Korea is a rapidly developing country. In fact, it is by most measures a fully developed country already. So we're talking about 40 million consumers, who present a tremendous growth opportunity for Canada. But even beyond the Korean market--and I think this is very important--the whole region is integrating at a pace we've never before seen: Korea, Japan, China, the whole northeast Asia region.

Industry committee  There are several stages to the process. In the pre-launch phase, we consult with the stakeholders and we talk with the other government through an exploratory process to find out two things: where is Canadian industry on the idea of having an FTA, and what are the possibilities of negotiating a state-of-the-art agreement with the other country?

Industry committee  Another reason this is so important for us is that the Koreans historically have not been big players in the FTA game. Until a couple of years ago, they had none. In the last two years, they have gone through a sea change, and they are now one of the most active players in terms of bilateral negotiations.

Industry committee  We think that the agreement is a good thing for all regions and all provinces. Indeed, all of this country's industries, except for the automobile and shipbuilding sectors, has said that they support this initiative, and do not take any issue with it. For reasons already explained, we believe that the two industries I just mentioned will not bear a negative impact.

Industry committee  Those are the only two studies in the auto sector, and those are the only two written studies we have at the moment. We did a lot of qualitative analysis, as I said in response to an earlier question, in the run-up to the decision to launch the negotiations. We have consultations with the stakeholders; we have government-to-government talks; and we do assessments looking at the tariff structures in the two countries to try to determine the likely impacts in each sector.

Industry committee  There is no written document.

Industry committee  All provinces and territories, including Québec and Ontario, supported the decision to initiate negotiations. Recently, because of its concerns about the automobile sector, the Ontario government have adopted a slightly more nuanced position. We received a letter reflecting this shift from the new Ontarian minister.

Industry committee  Yes. People involved in the Canadian industry believe that maintaining this rate is important. Given that other industry costs, such as, for example, the exchange rate and energy costs, fluctuate, it is felt that the current tariff is manageable. While it is not negligeable, it cannot be said to be too high.

Industry committee  Again, in the pre-launch period we did carry out comprehensive consultations with stakeholders. We had widespread support from everyone except the automotive and shipbuilding sectors. That's why we spent so much time taking a hard look at the auto sector in particular, which accounts for such a large part of our trade.

Industry committee  If I could just clarify, the 1,000 figure is the estimate of the loss of production in Canada. Studies estimate there will be an increase in imports from Korea, but the studies conclude those imports will largely displace other imports, not so much domestic production.

Industry committee  I'm not sure I would characterize the position of the Canadian auto industry as being opposed to this initiative. Even this morning, at a meeting with the minister, they made it clear that they were not opposed to this initiative. They just have serious concerns about our ability to penetrate what they perceive to be non-tariff measures in the Korean market.

Industry committee  There's not a written document that exists; I'm giving you my perspectives. I can certainly take note of your questions and see whether we can put some kind of written piece of paper together.

Industry committee  Actually, Korea was initially the demander. For the six to eight months prior to the launch of negotiations in July 2005 we carried out comprehensive consultations with Canadian stakeholders, as I mentioned. We published a Gazette notice. The minister wrote to hundreds and hundreds of stakeholders across the country.

Industry committee  At the moment we have four live negotiations. We have the Korea initiative we've been talking about, and we have three negotiations, which have been ongoing for many, many years, that we haven't been able to conclude. We have what we call the Central America four: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua; EFTA, the European Free Trade Association; and Singapore.

Industry committee  As I said, we are currently preparing an environmental assessment. In the context of this study, we will see...