S. Korea to introduce import safeguards for FTA with ASEAN
Yonhap | Monday October 16, 2006
S. Korea To Introduce Import Safeguards For FTA With ASEAN
SEOUL, Oct 16 Asia Pulse — South Korea plans to introduce special safeguard measures to protect local companies from import surges that may occur once its free trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) goes into effect, the government said Monday.
The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said the country’s trade and industrial damage protection law will be revised to counter any negative impacts from the free trade agreement (FTA). The industrial product part of the South Korea-ASEAN pact will become binding as of late this year.
Special safeguards are emergency measures that allow a country to impose high import duties on certain goods whose demand rises sharply. The high duties are used to shield local producers from damages.
South Korea and the 10-member association signed the FTA for manufactured goods in the Philippines in May.
"Once the safeguard systems are in place, the government will be better able to deal with irregular hikes in imports," a KTC official said. He said this special arrangement is better at protecting local interests than existing safeguard rules under the World Trade Organization.
The official added the safeguards can only be maintained for one to three years and could be imposed within one month of receiving a complaint by local companies.
South Korea has special safeguards for its FTAs with Chile and Singapore.
In addition, the commission under the Commerce and Industry Ministry said the rules will also apply to the FTA with the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA), made up of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The South Korea-EFTA pact went into effect in September.
The government also wants special safeguards in place for the free trade pacts being discussed with the United States, India and Canada.
ASEAN is one of the five largest trading partners for South Korea, and the May agreement calls for duties to be lowered for 90 percent of all manufactured goods traded by 2010.
Two-way trade reached US$5.2 billion as of 2005 and can grow rapidly with an FTA in place. More discussions on the agricultural part of the FTA are expected between South Korea and ASEAN.
