What is CPTPP? Understanding the new business opportunities in Asia-Pacific

On February 26, 2019, Nova Scotia Business Inc., in partnership with Global Affairs Canada and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, hosted a Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) one-day seminar in Halifax. The event invited companies to join some of Canada’s international business development experts to learn about commercial opportunities in Asia-Pacific that stem from the newly signed CPTPP and the CKFTA.

What is CPTPP? What does it mean for my business?

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement between Canada and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Once fully implemented, the 11 countries, including Canada, will form a trading bloc representing almost 500 million consumers and a combined GDP of $13.8 trillion.

Asia-Pacific markets are growing quickly and provide significant opportunities for trade and investment. The CPTPP benefits a wide range of sectors including financial services, fish and seafood, forestry, agriculture and agri-food, and metals and materials. The agreement will result in comprehensive tariff elimination across all sectors. Once fully implemented, 99% of tariff lines among CPTPP parties will be duty-free.

What is CKFTA?

Signed in 2014, the CKFTA was Canada’s first free trade agreement in Asia and provides new access for Canadian businesses and workers to South Korea, the fourth-largest economy in Asia, with an annual GDP of $1.3 trillion and a population of 50 million people.

Canada and South Korea enjoy a significant trade and investment relationship with tremendous potential for growth. South Korea is Canada’s seventh-largest merchandise trading partner and its third-largest in Asia, after China and Japan.
 

For companies that were not able to attend the CPTPP and CKFTA Seminar and Business Forum, we captured it on video.
Watch the CPTPP video:

For ease of reference, we have provided the agenda by the minute mark.

00:00:00 – 00:27:00: Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Christine Smith, Atlantic Regional Director & Senior Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada
• Laurel Broten, President and CEO, Nova Scotia Business Inc.
• The Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification

00:28:00 – 00:44:00: Nova Scotia Business Champion
Experiences, challenges and lessons learned from a local business that has been successfully exporting to CPTPP markets.

• Mark Wood, President, Ocean Sonics Ltd.

00:44:00 – 01:10:20: CPTPP Presentation
An overview presentation on key elements of the CPTPP agreement

• Jay Allen, Director, Trade Policy and Negotiations (Asia), Global Affairs Canada

01:10:30 – 01:59:10 Opportunities in CPTPP Markets
Senior trade officials from CPTPP markets highlight enhanced opportunities in markets of focus

• Kyle Nunas, Consul General, Consulate General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Arun Alexander, Senior Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Canada to Japan, Tokyo
• Ladan Amirazizi, Counsellor (Commercial) and Senior Trade Commissioner, High Commission of Canada to Australia, Canberra

01:59:15 – 02:06:29: CanExport
A presentation on the Trade Commissioner Service’s financial support program for small and medium-sized enterprises

• Taraneh Bayat-Mokhtari, Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada

Watch the CKFTA video:

00:00:00 – 00:28:33: The CKFTA and the South Korean Market
An overview presentation on key elements of the CKFTA and enhanced market opportunities in South Korea

• Steven Goodinson, Minister-Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea, Seoul

00:28:40 – 01:06:15: Tools of the Trade
A panel discussion to showcase how programs and services offered by the federal and provincial government can support the international business aspirations of Atlantic businesses

• Stéphane Crépeau, Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada
• Darlene Sponagle, International Business Development, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
• Pamela Rudolph, Export Development Team Lead, Nova Scotia Business Inc.
• Dan Dooks, Senior Account Manager, Export Development Canada
• Darren De Jean, Regional Director, Advisory Services, Business Development Bank of Canada
• Laurie Sanderson, Senior Industry Development Officer, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
   

Interested in learning more? Get full details on CPTPP, CKFTA and the Asia-Pacific market. Download the following presentations or click on the links to Global Affairs Canada.

Global Affairs Canada CPTPP Presentation Part One
Global Affairs Canada CPTPP Presentation Part Two
Global Affairs Canada CKFTA Presentation

About CPTPP
About CKFTA
 

This event was brought to you as part of The Atlantic Trade and Investment Growth Strategy. The Atlantic Trade and Investment Growth Strategy is a collaborative, pan-Atlantic approach which aims to help Atlantic businesses begin exporting, increase their export sales, expand to new markets, and create global partnerships. The Strategy was developed jointly by the governments of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.