South Korean autos, textiles and machinery stand to benefit the most from the free trade agreement with Canada, a trade report said Tuesday.

According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), South Korea and Canada have mutually complementary economies that both stand to gain from the deal.

It said for Seoul, Canada can be a stable supplier of various raw materials and energy resources, while the FTA gives Canada a beachhead in Asia to fuel sales.

Canada was South Korea‘s 25th-largest trading partner in 2013, with the countries’ bilateral trade volume reaching around US$10 billion.

Under the agreement inked in Ottawa, South Korea pledged to remove its import tariffs on 98.4 percent of imports from Canada within 10 years, with the trading partner to eliminate duties on 98.7 percent of products from the Northeast Asian country over the same period.

KITA said that with Canada to scrap 6-6.1 percent duties levied on automobiles and car parts in the next three years, local companies are expected to gain a greater market share in North America. South Korean carmakers, such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., and auto parts makers are already doing well in Canada. (Yonhap)