S Korea, EU set to open trade talks
Monday, April 23, 2007
SOUTH Korea and the European Union are set to formally announce bilateral free trade talks this week, government sources said here yesterday.
The EU is likely to give today the go-ahead to the talks and Seoul will hold a meeting of trade-related ministers this week before giving the green light for the negotiations, they said.
"When the EU completes the approval procedures on Monday as scheduled, the opening round of talks will take place here on May 7-11," an unidentified government official told Yonhap news agency.
"During the first sitting, we will mainly discuss the timetable and methods for the talks," the official said.
South Korea will put together a delegation of some 50 people covering four areas — commodities, investment and services, regulations and trade disputes.
Trade experts here say Seoul will find negotiations with the EU less tough than those with the United States as the EU is known to be more lenient towards its partners' sensitive agricultural issues.
The benefits to South Korea from a free trade agreement (FTA) would be tangible as the EU's average current tariff rate for imported goods is 4.3 per cent, compared to the US rate, which hovers at just over three per cent.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said last week that Seoul was ready to open talks with the EU on an FTA next month.AFP
The EU is likely to give today the go-ahead to the talks and Seoul will hold a meeting of trade-related ministers this week before giving the green light for the negotiations, they said.
"When the EU completes the approval procedures on Monday as scheduled, the opening round of talks will take place here on May 7-11," an unidentified government official told Yonhap news agency.
"During the first sitting, we will mainly discuss the timetable and methods for the talks," the official said.
South Korea will put together a delegation of some 50 people covering four areas — commodities, investment and services, regulations and trade disputes.
Trade experts here say Seoul will find negotiations with the EU less tough than those with the United States as the EU is known to be more lenient towards its partners' sensitive agricultural issues.
The benefits to South Korea from a free trade agreement (FTA) would be tangible as the EU's average current tariff rate for imported goods is 4.3 per cent, compared to the US rate, which hovers at just over three per cent.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said last week that Seoul was ready to open talks with the EU on an FTA next month.AFP
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