EU Ratifies Big Trade Deal w South Korea, First Asian Partner
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
The European Union agreed Thursday to sign a sweeping new free trade agreement with South Korea —
its first with an Asian trade partner —
after Italy removed objections that had threatened to block the deal.
Politicians and officials welcomed the announcement as an important signal for free trade and
evidence that protectionist pressures are being resisted, despite the uncertainty in the global economy.
The European Union agreed Thursday to sign a sweeping new free trade agreement with South Korea —
its first with an Asian trade partner —
after Italy removed objections that had threatened to block the deal.
Politicians and officials welcomed the announcement as an important signal for free trade and
evidence that protectionist pressures are being resisted, despite the uncertainty in the global economy.
“This the first generation of bilateral trade agreements which will bind Europe and Asia together in an ever-closer economic bond,”
said Steven Vanackere, vice prime minister and foreign minister of Belgium, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
“This is a very big step in opening markets in Asia for our companies.”
The deal, which has taken years to negotiate, is due to be to be signed
at an E.U.-South Korea summit meeting in Brussels next month and will enter into force from July 1, 2011,
Mr. Vanackere told a news conference at a summit meeting of E.U. leaders and foreign ministers in Brussels.
Italy had resisted giving its final approval to the pact, which requires unanimous backing from all 27 E.U. member states,
because of worries about the impact on its car-making industry.
However, with little support from other member states, it decided against holding out further
after it achieved a small concession, under which the introduction of the agreement was put off by six months.
The agreement was announced before the arrival in Brussels of Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister of Italy,
whose arrival was delayed after his plane made a precautionary emergency landing because of a problem with its cockpit windshield.
The deal will remove virtually all tariffs between the two economies, as well as many non-tariff barriers.
The European Commission estimates that it will be worth up to 19 billion euros, or $25 billion, in new trade for E.U. exporters, “and to boost jobs and growth.”
E.U.-South Korean trade was worth around 53 billion euros in 2009.
“This agreement is the most ambitious trade agreement ever negotiated by the E.U.,”
the European Commission said in a statement carried by the New York Times.
“It is a signal that the E.U. is open for business.”
And a rare bit of good news in a generally glum global business and trade scene.
