- Negotiations
In May 2007, the European Union and South Korea started negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement. It took effect on 1 July 2011.
This deal is part of the EU’s post-2006 "Global Europe" strategy to boost the competitiveness of EU corporations in the world by securing deeper commitments to neoliberal policies from trading partners, including expanded rights for European transnationals. In Korea, the European Union is trying to win equal, if not better, footing against US firms after the conclusion of the US-Korea FTA. (The EU makes stronger demands than the US on Korea in the areas of intellectual property, services, competition policy and environmental standards.)
Social movements from both sides mobilised against the deal’s potential impacts. One flashpoint of concern is for Korea’s agricultural sector, where pig farmers in particular are expected to suffer from an influx of subsidised EU pork as a result of this deal.
last update: May 2012
photo: European External Action Service - EEAS/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
21-Jun-2011
The European Union sees its sweeping free trade agreement with South Korea as a model for planned pacts elsewhere in Asia, the EU’s chief negotiator on the deal said Monday.
17-Jun-2011
The government is seeking to reduce the potential impact of a South Korea-EU free-trade agreement (FTA) on local industries by boosting product differentiation and market expansion, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said yesterday.
2-Jun-2011
Cho Seong Dae, chief researcher at the FTA & Industry Research Office Institute for International Trade, part of the Korea International Trade Association, comments on the impact of a free-trade agreement with the European Union on South Korean petrochemical companies.
25-May-2011
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it was looking into Taiwanese industries that could suffer a potential blow after a South Korea-EU free-trade agreement (FTA) takes effect on July 1.
11-May-2011
President Lee Myung-bak Tuesday urged major German companies to expand their investments in Korea, stressing that his country’s free-trade network will help European firms’ business in other foreign markets.
10-May-2011
Democratic Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu apologized to the people for the chaos around the ratification of the Korea-EU free trade agreement, which he promised to support and then backed away from, stressing he wasn’t opposed to the deal itself, but was “against the insufficient bill.”
6-May-2011
The National Assembly has ratified the free trade agreement with the European Union, which will allow the deal to take effect in July.
5-May-2011
The free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) that was ratified by South Korea’s parliament can boost exports of products made by local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a state-run trade promotion agency said Thursday.
5-May-2011
Opposition parties face rough sailing to solidarity due to the conflict over the passage of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement bill Wednesday night.
29-Apr-2011
The prospect of ratifying the free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union before the end of April legislative session appeared to have dimmed as the Democratic Party made clear its opposition.
