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Are they going to go just to shake hands?

A government source close to the talks, who was not authorized to speak on the record, noted that Harper tabled a summary of “final negotiated outcomes” in the House of Commons within two weeks of the Brussels signing ceremony.

NDP trade critic Don Davies said growing trade with South Korea and Asia in general is a good thing. But he was skeptical that the week’s coming ceremonies would not amount to much more than a repeat of Brussels.

“Are they going to go just to shake hands, have a photo-op and sign an agreement-in-principle without the actual details or text to be released?”

Davies assailed the government for a total lack of transparency, and questioned whether the deal would be able to protect jobs in Canada’s auto sector.

“In trade deals, it’s details that matter,” he said.

“The Conservatives have the least transparent trade policy probably in the developed world. They are closed, they are secretive and they don’t involve a lot of stakeholders; they don’t involve the opposition.”

The deal would mark progress toward expanding trade with Asia, a major economic priority of the Harper government. Coming on the heels of the Canada-EU pact, it would allow Harper to trumpet his first significant free-trade deal in Asia, and give impetus to other negotiations, particularly with Japan.

“It’s a very long time coming,” said Yuen Pau Woo, president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

“We are well behind our competitors, and closing with Korea will show that Canada is serious about developing stronger trade ties with Asia, and could well accelerate the pace of our negotiations with other countries.”