International Trade committee  I want to clarify a couple of things. During my presentation I did say I would support any agreement that promotes fair trade for all Canadians. I did not say I was in support of a free trade agreement. What I am saying, though, is that if the playing field is level, I'm confide

International Trade committee  I haven't necessarily. I don't think any trade agreement we have should be based totally on the numbers. It has to be on the quality of life and all other issues that have to be compared. If it's a fair opportunity for Canadians.... Look at our biggest trading partner, the Unit

International Trade committee  Regretfully, no, we have not really received any support. The only support that's available to our industry is the research and development program, and that's what we rely on for support.

International Trade committee  I don't have a dollar value, but at the provincial level right now, we are doing a study on Canada-China and what the actual differences are when you compare apples with apples. I'll share that with your committee when the study comes out in March.

International Trade committee  Late March.

International Trade committee  Mr. Cardin, to answer your question, this is the first time I've been approached about it. I've been working at the provincial level with the provincial government, because 93% of all mould manufacturing takes place in the province of Ontario. So although it is a Canadian issue,

International Trade committee  I'm not familiar with the tariff rates. In a lot of Asian countries there are hidden tariffs, where they penalize the companies if they do not buy from certain suppliers. In China they penalize the mould manufacturers if they import moulds. There's a VAT tax they apply to the com

International Trade committee  I'd like to see a free trade agreement that would level the playing field.

International Trade committee  As Teresa mentioned earlier, we should look at all the living standards, the hidden tariffs on the exports. There's obviously something wrong when Canada, one of the leading countries for mould manufacturing, only exported $634,000 worth of moulds last year to Korea.

International Trade committee  Yes, I do. Eighty percent of my business goes to the United States and Mexico. I've also exported to Turkey.

International Trade committee  Smaller companies like us, 52 people, don't have the resources to do it properly. If you're going to sell a product like ours, you have to stand behind it. Our moulds come with a lifetime warranty, and our customers expect it and hold us to it. To set up anything with Korea and s

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I'd like to thank you for inviting me to participate and to have a voice before the Standing Committee on International Trade. On short notice, as of Friday of last week, I have put something together on Canada-South Korea free trade and its effe