Korea, Turkey Launch FTA Talks
Chosun Ilbo, Korea
Korea, Turkey Launch FTA Talks
27 April 2010
Arirang News/Korea and Turkey started their first round of free trade negotiations in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday to set the framework for a bilateral trade deal.
Talks will focus on adopting a so-called "terms of reference" in which the two sides will try to come up with the overall scope and schedule of future discussions. The five-day talks will cover four sectors including goods, services, investments, and regulations.
The Korean government said last week that the pace of the talks is expected to be faster than others as both sides have already signed trade pacts with the European Union.
The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy estimates that the deal will raise Korea’s GDP by 0.01 to 0.03 percent.
Turkey will be the first emerging economy outside of the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) to sign a free trade deal with Korea. The pact is expected to set the groundwork for Korea’s future free trade pacts with other developing nations. It is also expected to serve as a bridgehead for Korea to penetrate markets in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, taking into account Turkey’s geopolitical location.
Trade between the two economies stood at US$3.1 billion as of 2009 with Turkey being Korea’s 32nd largest export destination.
Once the trade deal comes into effect Korea is forecast to gain an upper hand in Turkey’s manufacturing industry, while Turkey is projected to have a competitive edge in Korea’s agriculture sector. The FTA is also expected to boost tourism and cooperation in the energy industry between the two nations.
