Tariffs On Cars To Be Phased Out In Canada-South Korean Trade Deal

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he’s concluded a deal with South Korea which will phase out tariffs on the import and export of cars to Canada.

Currently Canada imposes a 6.1 per cent tariff on South Korean cars such as Hyundais and Kias. It’s expected this tariff will be phased out completely over the next three years through three annual cuts.

Ontario made cars headed the other way to South Korea will have their 8 per cent tariff removed almost immediately along with a tariff on automotive parts coming from Canada.

According to a written statement by Harper, the new deal would give unprecedented access” to Korea’s $1.1-trillion economy and create “thousands of new jobs” for Canadians.

South Korea also plans to eliminate tariffs on 87 per cent of other Canadian product such as Canadian beef over the next five to 15 years.

Not everyone is a fan of the new deal. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was pleased with the removal of tariffs on food products but said “We do have reservations about the auto sector.”

Ford Canada and Unifor, Canada’s largest union in the private sector, also publicly expressed concerns with the former stating South Korea “will remain one of the most closed automotive markets in the world” while the president of Unifor claimed the deal “allows Korean car makers to flood Canada, while doing little or nothing to get our cars into Korea.”

What do you think of the new trade deal?

 

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