- Negotiations
In May 2007, the European Union and South Korea started negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement. It took effect on 1 July 2011.
This deal is part of the EU’s post-2006 "Global Europe" strategy to boost the competitiveness of EU corporations in the world by securing deeper commitments to neoliberal policies from trading partners, including expanded rights for European transnationals. In Korea, the European Union is trying to win equal, if not better, footing against US firms after the conclusion of the US-Korea FTA. (The EU makes stronger demands than the US on Korea in the areas of intellectual property, services, competition policy and environmental standards.)
Social movements from both sides mobilised against the deal’s potential impacts. One flashpoint of concern is for Korea’s agricultural sector, where pig farmers in particular are expected to suffer from an influx of subsidised EU pork as a result of this deal.
last update: May 2012
photo: European External Action Service - EEAS/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
8-Sep-2010
BBC
MEPs have broadly welcomed new safeguard measures being brought in as part of a free trade agreement between the EU and South Korea.
18-Aug-2010
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade signaled yesterday that the free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union could be signed soon.
8-Jul-2010
In the next few months European Union governments will have to decide whether to ratify a free-trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea that is described by the EU’s external-trade directorate as “one of the most ambitious and complete deals” it has ever signed.
24-Jun-2010
EP
The European Parliament’s International Trade Committee gave its approval on Wednesday to draft legislation implementing a safeguard clause in the EU-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA).
9-Jun-2010
Korea Herald
The more than 1,000-page text needed to be translated into 23 languages and is now undergoing legal verification.
27-Apr-2010
On April 23, the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER) released a statement expressing its concerns regarding the possible distortive effects of the negotiated market access conditions under the EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on the European automotive market, which is the main customer base of the European steel industry.
18-Mar-2010
Arirang
The postponement is due to prolonged translation procedure by EU and does not mean changes in substance of pact or delay in implementation schedule (October 2010)
16-Mar-2010
FBT
A new UK government report outlines 100 business opportunities for British firms from the EU-Korea FTA
15-Mar-2010
Yonhap
Trade ministers from South Korea and the European Union will meet in Brussels on Monday to assess the progress of the final steps toward a bilateral free trade agreement
8-Mar-2010
Yonhap
Korea will maintain 2 million tons of milk production annually to help the local dairy industry deal with an influx of imports once a free trade pact with the European Union (EU) goes into effect, the government said yesterday.