The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement is the first bilateral agreement in the Asia-Pacific region. it aids in strengthening Canada's presence in the South Korean market, offering strategic access to regional and global value chains for exporters, investors and service providers.

 

This agreement covers business visitors, professionals, intra-company transferee and traders & investors. It has all the basic provisions of NAFTA with some modifications. Work permit option for spouses and common-law partners is included under the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement. Also, as seen in the Canada-Peru and Canada-Colombia FTAs, the Intra-Company Transferees category includes a category for ‘management trainee on professional development’ and uses a positive list of professionals which is divided between Contract Service Suppliers and Independent Professionals. Rules for traders and investors (T21/T22) remain the same as in the NAFTA.

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The CKFTA is estimated to have a significant economic impact by boosting Canada’s GDP by $1.7 billion and also enhancing Canada’s exports to South Korea by over 30%.