EU Expresses Regret at Second Round of Korea-EU Negotiations

EU Expresses Regret at Second Round of Korea-EU Negotiations. July. 18, 2007 04:00. jarrett@donga.com.

The second round of talks on a free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union (Korea-EU FTA) began in Brussels on Monday.

South Korean negotiators are considering a change in its list of products subject to opening such as automobiles, since the EU expressed deep regret about Korea’s relatively conservative proposal.

According to the Korean delegation, the EU said, “If Korea does not improve its proposal, the EU will scale back its proposal as well.”

Immediately before the talks, the EU suggested that it would offer 100 percent tariff-free market access to Korean exporters over the next seven years in its proposal. Meanwhile, Korea came up with a very conservative proposal categorizing 250 agricultural and marine products into miscellaneous items (whose tariffs will remain in place or whose removal of tariffs will be delayed depending on the results of the talks).

The EU said, “South Korea’s proposal to the EU is much worse than its proposal to the U.S. with regard to many goods that are competing with the U.S. It is hard to accept politically and administratively,” urging a change in the proposal.

Korean chief negotiator Kim Han-soo said at an evening briefing on Monday, “The first proposal is always conservative and there is much room for movement,” suggesting an advanced proposal is forthcoming in the future.

“As for the proposal on the auto industry, both parties agreed on a seven-year tariff removal period. I will talk about the modification with the related ministries after negotiations. Whether to shorten the period or not will be determined before the third round of talks in September,” added Kim.

As for the goods produced the Gaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, the bloc said, “Since it is a politically sensitive issue, it cannot be solved at the trade talks. After September, we will gradually mention the issue with the EU diplomatic authorities in relation to the progress of the talks.”

The Investor-State Dispute (ISD), which was a central issue in the negotiations of the Korea-U.S. FTA, will not be addressed in the Korea-EU FTA talks. Instead, the two parties agreed to specify the Investment Guarantee Agreement (IGA), which Korea and most EU-member countries have signed.

On Tuesday, Korean and EU negotiators continued their talks on trade remedies, non-tariff barriers, service and investment providers, and customs clearances.