Korea, EU to Sign Free Trade Deal in April
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
South Korea and the European Union have agreed to sign their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in April, the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.
Both sides confirmed that the trade pact will take effect this year, the ministry said in a statement. Prior to the final signing, a summit of chief officials will take place next month in Paris, it added.
The two parties agreed last year to conclude talks on signing the FTA, and implement it as early as possible, during President Lee Myung-bak's visit to Europe. They initialed the deal in October last year, three months after concluding negotiations.
Several articles have been amended from the initial agreement, according to the ministry. For some items, tariff reductions won't go into effect for one year.
As for mid- to large-sized sedans, one of Korea's key exports, tariffs will be gradually reduced. They will be slashed by a bigger rate in the initial year, before they are completely done away with in three years.
Reflecting the Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member nations in December last year, Korea and the EU also agreed to modify some of the technical terms in the draft of the agreement, including the change of the phrase "European Community" to "European Union."
The Korea-EU FTA is expected to boost bilateral trade by up to 20 percent, the state-run Korea Institute for International Economic Policy forecasts.
The EU was South Korea's second-largest trading partner following China in 2008, with mutual trades reaching $98.4 billion.
The 27-nation economic bloc was also the biggest foreign investor in South Korea, with investments tallying $44.8 billion in total.
This year, Korea looks to finalize FTAs with Peru and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional organization of six Middle East countries. Negotiations with Peru began in March last year, eight months after those with the GCC.
Also, Korea plans to extend the FTA to include a pact with Turkey, which is tied to the bloc in a customs union.