Trade pact with India to boost S. Korea's trade surplus: report

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is expected to enjoy an additional US$140
million annual trade surplus over the next ten years if a bilateral trade pact
with India takes effect, a local think tank said Tuesday.
According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), the
recently signed trade accord will boost South Korea's annual exports to India by
3.9 percent, or $177 million, compared with annual average shipments between 2004
and 2006.
South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, will also import $37 million more in
goods from India every year after the comprehensive economic partnership
agreement (CEPA) between the two countries goes into effect, the research
institute said.
South Korea and India concluded bilateral trade negotiations in August this year,
agreeing to phase out duties on machineries, automotive parts, electronics and
other manufactured goods.
Under the agreement, the two countries will gradually reduce or eliminate tariffs
on most goods over the 10 years after the accord takes effect. The bilateral
trade pact is widely expected to come into force in June next year after
ratification by South Korea's parliament.
The KIET report noted that South Korean machinery producers would benefit most
from the trade pact, followed by auto and electronics companies. South Korea's
textile industry, however, is expected to swing back in the red as a result of
trade with India.
South Korea is the second country after Singapore to sign a bilateral trade
treaty with India, the world's 12th largest economy.
ylee@yna.co.kr
(END)