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THE HERALD Mirth Page Businesses must be aggressive By BRIAN MacLEOD Herald Staff Halton Hills businesses will have to be aggressive if they want to take advantage of the CanadaUS free trade deal HaltonPeel MP Garth Turner says And its not just big business that should jump on the free trade bandwagon said Mr Turner at his first free trade seminar- in Georgetown recently The smalt and mediumsized businesses will make a mistake if they assume its only the big guys who will benefit he said The small and medium size manufac turers will make or break the Free Trade Agreement in the hilts Parents meet Bishop Reding Parents Association will meet Monday March to discuss Teenage Sex uality This meeting will be held at Bishop Reding Secondary School with guest speakers Lionel and Anna Such a topic is of concern to many parents and teenagers so consider attending this meeting which will begin at pm Volunteer call North Halton Distress and In formation centre needs new volunteers to help maintain the community ser vice Training will begin Monday evening March 13 at730pm If you can give four hours per week are a good listener and would like to help call 1211 for more information Diabetes meeting The Brampton and District Branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association will hold its next General Meeting on Monday March at pm at the Lions Community Hall in Brampton Speaking on What is new in research will be Brucie McCloud author and nurse from WeUesley Hospital Ms McCloud is also on the Executive National Divi sion For additional information call Refreshments will be served You re invi to join us for a life changing experience Join Us Mar Mar FILM SERIES GEORGETOWN ALLIANCE CHURCH II4MAINKTH During the halfday seminar a room full of local business owners were taken through the complex steps needed to take advantage of the agreement by Canadian and American experts on importing and exporting goods Businesses must develop both an offensive and defensive strategy now that the deal is in effect said Mr Turner Developing an inten sive marketing strategy will help push Canadian products in the US and companies here will have to make sure their businesses are ef ficient on their own home territory to make sure American com panies cant come in and scoop you Many small companies in town feel theyre not sophisticated enough to take advantage of the Free Trade Agreement Mr Turner said To those businesses he says dont be shy Dont assume you cant do it Admittedly free trade isnt go- to pave the streets with gold said Mr Turner However Southern Ontario businesses are just a few hours away from a market of five million people in the northern US while the reverse situation offers American businesses a market of only about five million so it makes sense for Canadian businesses to become more aggressive he said The Canadian government has formed a committee to look into the implications of the agreement here in Canada The committee headed by Bell Canadas Jean de will report on the necessary adjustments Canada will need to make The committee will look into where jobs will be gained and lost and what the government should do to prepare for the effect of the reduction of tariffs over the next few years Here in Mr Turner has set up a free trade committee headed by Limehouse farmer Frank Anthony The committee will be travelling the riding in an attempt to act as a liaison between business the public and govern ment on the agreement Producers of grain and oil seeds in Canada will be able to take ad vantage of the agreement within the next two years said Mr An thony Those tariffs are among the first In reverse milk and poultry pro ducers will have to keep an eye on American importers looking to compete in Canada he said Tariffs gradually lifted When the CanadaUS Free Trade Agreement came into ef fect Jan l tariffs on about per cent of trade between the two countries were eliminated Products which had their tariffs dropped immediately in clude computers and accompany ing equipment some unprocess ed fish leather yeast vending machines skates papermaking machinery some pork fur garments whisky animal feeds alloys needles skis war ranty repairs and motorcycles Over the next years tariffs on the remaining goods will be dropped Tariffs on some items will be dropped in five equal steps including subway cars printed materials paints aftermarket auto parts chemicals paper and paper products furniture hard wood plywood and most machinery l Tariffs on the remaining goods will be dropped in 10 equal steps Including most agricultural pro ducts textiles and apparel plywood railcars steel ap pliances pleasure craft and tires Main Street South Downtown Georgetown 8731470 NEW AT TIDY CAR A Full Line of Truck and Car Custom Accessories RUNNING BOARDS installation DRY CLEANING INTERIORS PROTECTION SUNROOFS VINYL HOOF REVITALIZING RUST PROOFING TOUCH UP PAINT CAR COVERS SPLASH GUARDS RUNNING TINTING PIN STRIPING I SAME DAY SERVICE 8730570 26S Guefph St Georgetown OWN 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