Korea, EU to reopen talks about car provisions in FTA
Chosun Ilbo | Dec. 09, 2010
Korea, EU to reopen talks about car provisions in FTA
Korea will hold talks with the EU over vehicle gas mileage and greenhouse gas emission standards in the free trade agreement after renegotiations of the FTA with the U.S. opened the door for adjustments.
Choi Seok-young, Korea’s chief trade negotiator, said Wednesday, "The EU and the U.S. have asked us to ease gas mileage and greenhouse gas emission standards since the government announced a plan in July last year to strengthen them." Now that it recently made significant concessions to the U.S., Korea “will also begin talks with the EU soon," he added.
The talks with the EU will officially be billed as ordinary trade negotiation rather than renegotiations of the FTA.
Korea will toughen gas mileage requirements on a step-by-step basis to more than 17 km per liter from 2012 until 2015, and require vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to under 140 g per kilometer.
In compliance with U.S. demands, Korea agreed to ease gas mileage and greenhouse gas emission requirements by 19 percent for American automakers that export less than 4,500 vehicles per year to Korea.
The EU is expected to ask for similar concessions.
