EU says Korea could scupper trade talks over cars
Reuters | Fri Nov 23, 2007
EU says Korea could scupper trade talks over cars
By William Schomberg
BRUSSELS, Nov 23 (Reuters) — The European Union’s top negotiator in free trade talks with South Korea said Korea was proposing measures that would hurt European car exporters, possibly undermining the chances of a deal.
"I think it is very clear that without substantial improvement in market-access conditions on non-tariff measures it would not be possible to conclude this free trade negotiation," Ignacio Garcia Bercero told reporters on Friday.
The EU says Korea’s technical requirements hamper its car exporters and it wants Seoul to accept international standards as equivalent to domestic ones, something the Asian country does now for about half its standards.
"However, Korea has announced its intention is to move away from equivalence so in future equivalence would only be possible in certain limited quantities, quotas if you want, and this would of course imply worse market access conditions to those which prevail today," said Garcia Bercero.
He said he was neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the chances of a deal although the two sides remained "very far apart" on automobiles and other core issues in the talks.
The negotiations were launched in May as part of the EU’s plan to open up new markets in Asia’s fast-growing economies.
They cover a range of issues from trade in goods and services to investment rules and government procurement.
EU-Korea trade reached 60 billion euros ($89 billion) in 2006, according to European Commission figures.
Korea’s top negotiator in the talks said late on Thursday there had been no narrowing of positions over automobiles but he would consult with officials in Seoul to see if more concessions by Korea on the issue of standards were possible.
"We very much hope this will be the case otherwise this crucial issue will be in a real situation of crisis," Garcia Bercero said, rejecting Korea’s "totally excessive" calls for Europe to remove its import tariffs on cars in three years.
A fifth round of talks in Brussels were due to end on Friday and a next round could take place in January, officials said.
Other stumbling blocks include the EU’s requirements for local content in goods covered by the trade deal which Korea has complained are too high for its industry.
Garcia Bercero said the EU would see if the rules of origin could be relaxed, if Korea did likewise on its side.
He also said Korea had taken an important step on another core area of the talks — reducing import tariffs — although those negotiations remained difficult while progress on services and investment had been made.
Korea originally hoped to wrap up the talks by the end of this year but its chief negotiator said getting them finished by May 2008 would now represent "a very early conclusion".
