Korea, New Zealand agree free trade pact
Korea Herald | 22.12.2014
Korea, New Zealand agree free trade pact
Korea and New Zealand on Monday initialed their free trade agreement, negotiations for which concluded on Nov. 15, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.
“The FTA was initialed in Wellington by South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Choi Kyong-lim and New Zealand Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade David Walker,’’ a ministry official said.
Initialing of a free trade pact means that the two parties confirm every word on each page is final and will not be subject to changes before the official signing, according to the ministry.
The two nations will officially sign the bilateral trade pact early next year.
“Then, if the trade pact goes into effect after gaining parliamentary approval, import tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods traded between the two countries will be eliminated,” the official said.
The English version of the FTA initiated was made public immediately after the initialing ceremony at www.fta.go.kr.
Under the pact, New Zealand will eliminate its import tariffs on 92 percent of all shipments from South Korea in terms of their value, immediately after its implementation, and completely remove all tariffs on South Korean products within seven years.
South Korea will reciprocate by removing tariffs on 96.4 percent of shipments from New Zealand over a 15-year period following the implementation of the deal.
The two sides have agreed to exclude some products from the deal, mostly agricultural goods such as rice that are considered most sensitive in South Korea.
In 2013, bilateral trade between the two countries came to $2.8 billion, making New Zealand South Korea’s 44th-largest trading partner and South Korea New Zealand’s 41st, according to the ministry.
Talks over an FTA between the two nations began in 2009 but were impeded by concerns over the impact of New Zealand agricultural imports on the Korean market.
These issues were resolved in February 2014 with New Zealand’s decision to slowly phase out tariffs on goods.
By Seo Jee-yeon and news reports
(jyseo@heraldcorp.com)
