A former politician believes the sky is the limit for Canada when it comes to new international trading opportunities.
Jean Charest has a new role as chair of a national coalition called the Partnership for Resource Trade.
Charest says the fishing industry in New Brunswick is already finding new markets for its products.
“Specific chartered flights from New Brunswick to Europe is an example of that,” says Charest. “If you go to Europe, Canadian Lobster is a branded product in restaurants. If you go to France, they will label it as Canadian Lobster.”
Charest adds the still-to-be-approved Canada-European Union trade agreement is going to open up even more opportunities for companies in New Brunswick.
Charest says this agreement will “eliminate all the tariffs on fish products, but the very day it comes into force, all those tariffs disappear, so the industry here should be looking at that and taking advantage of that opportunity.”
Charest says New Brunswick’s lumber industry should be revving up soon as the American economy improves.
“There’s a huge industry here in New Brunswick for doors and windows, and you export a lot of it. We should be gearing up for a revival of the American housing industry, they’re building about a million homes now,” says Charest.
However, Charest cautions the lumber industry not to rely heavily on the American market and turn the focus on the huge Asian market instead.
