Canada and Korea sign MOU for more trade, including autos and minerals

Canada and South Korea have taken key steps to strengthen trade ties that are expected to boost several industrial sectors in Canada, including automotive and critical minerals.

Canada and South Korea have taken new steps to strengthen trade ties that are expected to boost several industrial sectors in Canada, including automotive and critical minerals.

This comes amid the global trade war and U.S. tariffs, which have impacted Canada’s economic growth and job market, forcing the federal government to seek alternative trading partners and work to remove interprovincial trade barriers to reduce reliance on the U.S.

On Wednesday, Canada’s Industry Minister Melanie Joly met in Ottawa with counterparts from the Republic of Korea and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two nations.

Details of the agreement were outlined in a press release, which includes establishing the Canada-Korea Industrial Cooperation Committee to work together on what it calls “future mobility.”

Areas the committee will focus on, according to the release, include creating a footprint for Korean automotive production in Canada, with electric vehicle manufacturing opportunities among the investments, although no specific amounts were mentioned.

Artificial intelligence was also one of the “strategic sectors” mentioned as part of the agreement, but no other details were provided.

In addition to the auto manufacturing sector, the release says the agreement means further co-operation with South Korea on Canada’s battery supply chain. This means battery production, materials processing and refinement, as well as critical minerals processing and recycling.

Canada may also be increasing some exports to South Korea as part of this agreement, according to Tim Hodgson, Canada’s minister of energy and natural resources, who was quoted in the release saying the MOU means “we are diversifying our exports,” but no other specifics were provided.