EU demands greater access to South Korean agri market at FTA talks
Monday July 23, 2007
EU Demands Greater Access To STH Korean Agri Market At FTA Talks
SEOUL, July 23 Asia Pulse — The European Union (EU) is demanding greater access to South Korea’s agricultural market at free trade pact talks between the two sides, the government said Monday.
In the five-day negotiations that ended Friday, the EU said only a minimal number of goods should be excluded from tariff cuts, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said. The gathering in Brussels was the second one aimed at forging a free trade agreement (FTA) between the trading partners.
The EU is the second-largest trading partner of South Korea after China, with US$79 billion in bilateral trade in 2006.
Unofficial studies suggest an FTA would boost that figure by as much as 40 per cent.
"The EU, in particular, claimed there were considerable gaps between what Seoul was offering in the latest talks and those that were agreed upon with the United States earlier in the year," a ministry official said.
He said the EU expressed keen interest in such markets as those for pork, wine, beer, whiskey, cherries and processed tomatoes.
In response, Seoul called on the European counterparts to do more to lower non-tariff barriers on manufactured goods.
The two sides also concurred on the need to hold further negotiations on improving livestock welfare and reducing areas that would be affected by trade restrictions if there is an animal disease epidemic.
South Korea currently bans imports of all products from any country with such an epidemic, but the EU is calling for changes to the rule since modern quarantine measures effectively prevent a epidemic from spreading beyond an area that is affected.
The next round of talks is planned for September. Both sides want to conclude negotiations within the year.
(Yonhap)
