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EU hails entry into force of free-trade deal with South Korea
Jun 30, 2011, 12:16 GMT
Brussels - A new free trade agreement with South Korea is set to become 'a game-changer' for the European Union's trade relations with Asia, the bloc's trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said on Thursday.
De Gucht was hailing the entry into force on Friday of the EU-South Korea deal, through which the two sides have committed to scrap 98.7 per cent of duties within five years.
'This free trade agreement is the most ambitious trade deal ever concluded by the EU and should become a game-changer for our trade relations with Asia,' the commissioner said.
The EU is negotiating similarly far-reaching deals with other Asian nations such as Singapore and India.
Not all members of the bloc, however, are enthusiastic about trade liberalisation: implementation of the South Korea deal was delayed by six months to assuage Italian concerns about its effects on national carmaker Fiat.
A 'safeguard clause' was inserted in the agreement, allowing the EU to suspend the foreseen reduction in duties or to increase them to previous levels in case a sudden surge of South Korean exports is deemed to cause 'serious injury' to EU producers.
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