S. Korea to decide on start of FTA talks with EU next week
Yonhap News, Seoul
S. Korea to decide on start of FTA talks with EU next week
29 April 2007
SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) — South Korea is scheduled to decide on the beginning of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) at a meeting of ministers next week, a government official said Sunday.
"Government ministers related to external economic policy will make a decision on the start of FTA talks with the EU at the meeting scheduled for Tuesday," the official said on customary condition of anonymity.
The meeting was originally to be held on Friday, but was delayed due to the schedules of some ministers, he said, adding that there is no change in the timetable for FTA talks with the EU.
The first round of the FTA talks is scheduled to take place on May 7-11 in Seoul.
Earlier on Monday, the EU unanimously approved a guideline for FTA negotiations with South Korea, completing its internal approval procedures.
South Korean exports to the EU, the country’s second-largest export destination after China, totaled US$49.2 billion last year. Shipments to the U.S. reached $43.2 billion last year.
FTA negotiations with the EU will come after South Korea concluded a landmark free trade deal with the United States on April 2.
South Korea, Asia’s third-largest economy, has signed FTAs with Chile and Singapore and is pushing free trade deals with Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
