Brussels, 08/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The bilateral free-trade agreement between the EU and South Korea, which has been under discussion since 2007, should officially enter into force on 1 July 2011. Having obtained guarantees for European industry in the form of a solid safeguard clause and assurances have been received from Seoul over the new South Korean law on CO² emissions from vehicles, the international trade committee of the European Parliament gave its blessing, on Monday 7 February, to the ratification by the plenary assembly of the most ambitious trade pact ever negotiated with a third country.
Having examined all the implications of the agreement for EU industry, the international trade committee on Monday adopted, by a large majority (21 votes in favour, four against and no abstentions) the report by the UK MEP Robert Sturdy (ECR), thereby giving its approval to the Parliament's ratification of an agreement aiming to remove nearly 98% of import duty and other commercial barriers to manufactured products, agricultural products and services over the next five years, and in the medium-term, to double bilateral trade. The free-trade agreement, which will also cover public procurement, intellectual property, employment rules and environmental issues, will provide new trade outlets for the goods and services of the EU, estimated at €1.9 billion a year, and an annual savings of €1.6 billion in customs duty for European exporters. The biggest gains will be to small and medium-sized enterprises in the automotive, retail electronic goods and textiles sectors. Under this agreement, duty of 8% on European cars exported to South Korea will be removed, saving €2,000 in duty on a €25,000 vehicle. The European car builders will also be able to sell cars produced in line with EU specifications in South Korea without having to subject them to additional tests, at their own costs. Additionally, the agreement sets in place a monitoring committee to avoid any disguised protectionism in the form of new technical barriers to trade (for example, using new South Korean technical rules on CO² emissions standards, amongst other things).
The Sturdy report, and the report on the safeguard clause by Spain's Pablo Zalba Bidegain (EPP), which was voted on by the international trade committee 26 January (EUROPE 10302), will be put to the vote in the plenary session next week in Strasbourg. (E.H./transl.fl)