Hon. Alice Wong, P.C.

Left: The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, meets with Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. On April 10, the ministers announced that the next round of negotiations toward a Canada-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement would take place from April 22 to 26, 2013, in Ottawa.

Right: The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, meets with Akira Amari, Japan’s Minister of Economic Revitalization. The ministers discussed the potential for deepening the trade and economic relationship between their countries. (left to right: Minister of State Wong, Minister Fast, Minister Amari, Senior Vice-Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura)

April 11, 2013
Tokyo, Japan

April 12, 2013
Yokohama, Japan

Japan is Canada’s fourth-largest export market, with exports worth some $10.4 billion in 2012. Canada is actively engaged in free trade negotiations with Japan as part of Canada’s ambitious pro-trade plan for jobs and growth. A Canada-Japan joint study found that an economic partnership agreement could boost Canada’s gross domestic product by $3.8 billion a year—equivalent to almost 30,000 new jobs or an increase of $325 to the average Canadian family’s annual income—and Japan’s GDP by up to $4.4 billion. The study also found that an agreement could increase Canadian exports to Japan by as much as 67 percent.

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