- Negotiations
The government of South Korea has concluded, or is pursuing negotiations for, a number of bilateral free trade and investment agreements. Korean social movements have been mobilizing in opposition to these ever since the Korea-Chile FTA was proposed. So far, South Korea has signed deals with Chile (2004), EFTA (2004), Singapore (2005), ASEAN (2007) the US (2007, ratified in 2011), Peru (2011) and Turkey (2012). Talks are under way with Canada, China, Mexico, India, the EU and, technically speaking, Japan. Negotiations with Colombia have stalled over Colombia’s demands for access for better terms for its fruit and flower exports than what Korea gives Chile and Peru. Seoul is also looking to open discussions with Mercosur, Malaysia, Mexico and possibly Israel.
last update: May 2012
Photo: Joe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0
10-Aug-2006
The government hopes to start free trade negotiations with China in the first half of next year after it clinches a free trade agreement with the U.S, a senior government official said Thursday.
10-Aug-2006
According to recently-released data from a conference held last year, when China showed its intention to seek a free trade agreement with Korea, the U.S. gave a strong warning and the Korean government backed away from the deal, going with the U.S. instead.
10-Aug-2006
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong on Thursday denied a report that the Seoul government rejected China’s proposal to sign a free trade agreement last year after the United States expressed concerns over Beijing’s huge presence in Northeast Asia.
10-Aug-2006
A South Korean trade official, who participated in the recent free trade negotiations with Washington, said that Seoul was not in a position to play the "China card" in its negotiations with the United States for fear of causing unnecessary backlash from Washington, referring to the negotiation leverage that might be gained by first signing a free trade pact with China.
2-Aug-2006
Korea’s big-business lobby is urging a free-trade agreement with the European Union. The Federation of Korean Industries reports the Korean and the European economies are complementary, hence there will be few hurdles to sealing a pact.
14-Jul-2006
Korea Times
Although the free trade agreement with the United States has been receiving the lion’s share of the nation’s attention, South Korea and India will continue free trade talks next week to discuss the timetable and extent of tariff reductions, Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Thursday.
4-Jul-2006
China will recognize products from the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North as made in South Korea, a high-ranking government official in Seoul said Monday.
20-Jun-2006
Negotiations on a free trade pact between South Korea and Japan remain in a stalemate because Seoul is demanding too many concessions in the agricultural sector from Tokyo, a top Japanese envoy said Tuesday.
14-Jun-2006
President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic will sign a number of official documents in Seoul, including a memorandum of understanding on guaranteeing bilateral investment.
27-May-2006
Stuff.co.nz
Negotiations for a free trade pact between South Korea and Japan have been deadlocked for more than a year partly due to differences over how the two sides view their history, South Korea’s commerce minister said on Friday.
Links
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KoPA is a coalition of around 50 NGOs, social movement organizations, political parties, peasant organizations and trade unions working, among other things, to stop bilateral and regional free trade agreements and the WTO.
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