Strasbourg, 14/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption, on Thursday 13 December, of the report by David Martin (PES, UK) on economic and trade relations with South Korea, the European Parliament affirmed its support for the talks headed by the European Commission with Seoul, with a view to concluding a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). The EP nonetheless draws attention to the “significant problems” to be settled with Seoul: - dismantling of non-tariff barriers, the opening of the South Korean services market, taking into account the Singapore issues (investment, competition, public procurement and trade facilitation) and the need to reduce tariffs on “green” goods and services more rapidly. The EP takes the view that the introduction of strong social and environmental clauses after the fashion of those included in the FTA between the USA and South Korea under pressure from the US Congress, and of an ambitious chapter on sustainable development, are also essential aims of the talks.
Non-tariff barriers. On this point, the Martin report stresses that South Korea's divergence from international standards and labelling requirements is the cause of major problems for the automobile, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and electronics industries of the EU. The EP calls therefore on Seoul to provide satisfactory explanations concerning these differences, or to do away with barriers. The Martin report also stresses the need to introduce into the FTA a provision on mutual recognition to eliminate obstacles caused by double procedures applied by South Korea.
Automobile sector. Concerned by the fact that the FTA may have an adverse impact on European industry, the EP calls on the Commission to consider a strategy for gradually phasing out EU import tariffs with safeguards, linked to the lifting of the main non-tariff obstacles on the South Korean side. As South Korea has already ratified the agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) on the establishment of global technical rules for wheeled vehicles, their accessories and parts, the EP also invites the Commission to insist upon rapid implementation by Seoul and calls for all European automobiles that meet UN-ECE standards to be imported into South Korea without having to pass approval or type testing. Finally, the EP states its opposition to the provisions that exempt Korean vehicles from the anti-pollution emission norms.
Other requirements. The EP invites the Commission to pay special attention to the shipbuilding sector and to take into account the concerns of the Korean and European agriculture sectors, mainly with regard to the possible negative impact that the FTA could have on sensitive products. It also stresses the importance of taking into account the requirements set regarding tariff peaks and excessive labelling faced by distilleries, and demands the abolition of non-tariff barriers applied to fruit and vegetables as well as the excessively high duties for fruit preserves. The EP invites the Commission to place emphasis on regulatory convergence and standards with South Korea, and on the transparency of public aid mechanisms. Finally, the EP calls for scientific and technical cooperation (mainly in the field of energy and ICT) and for intellectual property to be key elements of bilateral negotiations, as, it states, the FTA content is more important than the timetable. (E.H.)