Trade commentator Peter Clark is blaming the Canadian Auto
Workers Union for stalling trade talks with South Korea.
He says this is costing Canadians the opportunity to sell
more products to South Koreans, including Canadian pork and beef.
And he says it’s highly unlikely that the Koreans would
increase shipments of their cars from Korea to Canada because it’s cheaper and
easier for them to sell Canadians their cars assembled at plants in the United
States.
Those plants, by the way, also import auto parts made in
Canada, Clark argues in a lengthy paper he released this week on the issues
that stalled the trade talks three years ago.
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association filed a complaint with
the World Trade Organization over a BSE-based ban on Canadian beef, the Korean
Parliament has approved re-opening of its markets to Canadian beef, but there
is still the matter of getting the final and official approval before imports
can resume.
That's a point made by John Gillespie of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, not by Clark.
Gillespie also says if the South Koreans continue to stall, Canada has the right
from the World Trade Organization to take retaliatory measures. That might be
tariffs on South Korean cars. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s riding is Oshawa,
a major auto-parts and auto-assembly city.
The Canadian Pork Council has regularly been badgering the
Canadian government to get back to negotiations with South Korea and to gain
them access to the South Korean market.
