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Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his South Korean counterpart announced early Tuesday their two countries have concluded a free-trade agreement that the government boasts will be a major boost for Canadian exporters in the fast growing Asian market, but detractors fear will damage Ontario’s key economic auto industry.

The announcement ends almost a decade of on-and-off talks and represents Canada’s first free-trade agreement with an Asian country, a region of the world the Conservative government has targeted as essential for the country’s economic well-being.

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Once in force, it will eliminate virtually all tariffs between the countries, with Korea cutting 81.9 per cent of duties upon the first day of the deal coming into force, and Canada removing 76.4 per cent of levies. Some tariffs will take as long as a dozen years to be fully phased out, however.

Officials say the pact is fully fleshed and not an agreement in principle, as was the case with the European Union deal, and could come into effect within a year. The agreement is also different is that it does not involve sub-national procurement, so Ottawa will not require provincial approval. Media was briefed on the details simultaneously in Ottawa and Seoul on Monday night ET.