S Korea seeking free trade with South America’s Mercosur: commerce minister
S Korea seeking free trade with South America’s Mercosur: commerce minister
Sao Paulo, Dec. 8 2007 (Yonhap) — South Korea is seeking a free trade pact with Brazil and some other Latin American states to enhance bilateral trade and investment, South Korea’s commerce minister said Saturday.
"We are seeking to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Brazil and three other Mercosur members, including Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, in a gradual manner so it could pave the way (for South Korean firms) to stably increase investment and increase exports to the Mercosur member states," Kim Young-joo said. Kim has been in Brazil for the past few days to attend a forum of government officials and businessmen and discuss with Brazilian officials enhancing bilateral ties.
Mercosur, a free trade association of South American countries, is the world’s third largest trading bloc.
Kim stressed the need for increasing cooperation in oil, petrochemical industry, minerals bio-fuels and other alternative energy, saying, "Brazil is the country with a great potential in natural resources and markets as prices of oil and raw materials have risen over the past years."
South Korea’s exports to Mercosur reached US$1.4 billion in 2003.
South Korea has free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the European Free Trade Association, which is made up of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
In June, Seoul also signed a free trade agreement with the United States that would be the largest free trade agreement for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. The agreement is currently awaiting legislative approval in both nations.
South Korea is also in FTA negotiations with the 27-member European Union and Canada.
