ID :
62069
Sun, 05/24/2009 - 05:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/62069
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, EU agree on early conclusion of free trade deal
SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the European Union (EU) agreed on
Saturday to conclude a bilateral free trade deal at an early date and said
ministers from both sides will meet in late June to resolve contentious issues,
Seoul's trade ministry said.
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and his EU counterpart, Catherine
Ashton, discussed how to resolve the remaining issues such as duty drawback in
their free trade negotiations on the sidelines of a South Korea-EU summit.
"Both sides agreed to wrap up a free trade deal at an earlier date, and to hold
minister-level talks in Paris in late June," the ministry said in a statement.
Following the summit earlier Saturday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak,
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Czech President Vaclav
Klaus -- who currently holds the EU's rotating presidency -- said in a joint
statement that the free trade deal is an important opportunity to further
strengthen their relationship.
South Korea and the EU reached a tentative agreement in March after nearly two
years of negotiations, but key issues of a "political nature" such as duty
drawback remain unresolved.
Kim and Ashton met in London in April, hoping to make a breakthrough in the
sluggish talks, but failed to find a common ground.
South Korea has a firm stance on duty drawback, which allows import tariffs to be
returned to companies that use imported materials to make products for export,
saying that if the scheme is rejected it will severely undermine the effect of
tariff reductions.
Brussels opposes the provision, however, saying it would favor South Korean
exporters. The EU does not allow duty drawback under its existing free trade
accords with Mexico and Chile.
The EU was South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China last year,
with two-way trade reaching more than US$98 billion. If the pact is finalized, it
will boost South Korea's exports by $11 billion and gross domestic product by
3.08 percent, according to a forecast by the Korea Institute for International
Economic Policy.
South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, reached a free trade deal with the
United States in March 2007, shortly before it launched talks with the EU, but
the deal has remained stalled in both legislatures.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
Saturday to conclude a bilateral free trade deal at an early date and said
ministers from both sides will meet in late June to resolve contentious issues,
Seoul's trade ministry said.
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and his EU counterpart, Catherine
Ashton, discussed how to resolve the remaining issues such as duty drawback in
their free trade negotiations on the sidelines of a South Korea-EU summit.
"Both sides agreed to wrap up a free trade deal at an earlier date, and to hold
minister-level talks in Paris in late June," the ministry said in a statement.
Following the summit earlier Saturday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak,
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Czech President Vaclav
Klaus -- who currently holds the EU's rotating presidency -- said in a joint
statement that the free trade deal is an important opportunity to further
strengthen their relationship.
South Korea and the EU reached a tentative agreement in March after nearly two
years of negotiations, but key issues of a "political nature" such as duty
drawback remain unresolved.
Kim and Ashton met in London in April, hoping to make a breakthrough in the
sluggish talks, but failed to find a common ground.
South Korea has a firm stance on duty drawback, which allows import tariffs to be
returned to companies that use imported materials to make products for export,
saying that if the scheme is rejected it will severely undermine the effect of
tariff reductions.
Brussels opposes the provision, however, saying it would favor South Korean
exporters. The EU does not allow duty drawback under its existing free trade
accords with Mexico and Chile.
The EU was South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China last year,
with two-way trade reaching more than US$98 billion. If the pact is finalized, it
will boost South Korea's exports by $11 billion and gross domestic product by
3.08 percent, according to a forecast by the Korea Institute for International
Economic Policy.
South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, reached a free trade deal with the
United States in March 2007, shortly before it launched talks with the EU, but
the deal has remained stalled in both legislatures.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
