La UE y Corea celebran una segunda ronda de negociaciones para un acuerdo de libre comercio. La UE presenta una oferta ambiciosa, en la que propone un acceso a los mercados completamente exento de aranceles.
Los negociadores de ambas partes iniciaron su segunda ronda de negociaciones en Bruselas, retomando las ofertas iniciales de acceso a los mercados formuladas hace dos semanas. Peter Mandelson inició el proceso de negociación con el Ministro de Comercio coreano, Kim Hyun-chong, en mayo de 2007. Las delegaciones participantes en esta ronda están encabezadas por altos funcionarios de las dos partes.
Comunicado de prensa de la UE:
Korea
EU and Korean negotiators hold second round of FTA negotiations; EU sets bar high with bold 100% tariff-free market access offer
Brussels, 16 July 2007
EU and Korean negotiators will begin their second round of FTA negotiations in Brussels, building on initial market access offers exchanged two weeks ago. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson launched the negotiation with Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong in May 2007. This round of talks will be led by senior officials from both sides.
• The EU has set the bar high by offering 100% tariff-free market access for Korean exporters to the EU market if Korea makes a similarly ambitious offer. The EU has never before taken such an ambitious position in a bilateral free trade negotiation.
• In return the EU is looking for substantial new access to the growing Korean market in key areas like automobiles, manufactured goods, and business services.
• The EU seeks new access for EU investors in Korea, including the removal of restrictions on EU investment. This is a crucial area for Europe, where no WTO disciplines currently exist. The EU is the biggest investor in Korea. 45% of FDI inflows to Korea came from the EU last year (US$ 5 billion).
• The EU wants to put a new focus on non-tariff barriers and behind the border issues in Korea – regulations that are unnecessarily complicated and burdensome, and which may in some cases present greater obstacles than tariffs, An FTA that builds bilateral trade and complements the WTO system
As part of the Global Europe strategy set out in October 2006, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has launched a new generation of bilateral trade agreements that will boost the EU’s presence in growing emerging markets and complement the multilateral WTO system by pushing liberalisation in key areas like investment not currently covered by WTO rules. They will provide new opportunities for EU companies, and help generate jobs and growth in Europe.
The EU and Korea are trading economies. It makes sense for them to look at ways they can bring their economies closer together. Studies Commissioned by the EU suggest that an ambitious EU-Korea FTA could increase EU exports to Korea and Korean exports to the EU by between 30 and 40%. For Europe, an FTA means wider access to the prosperous Korean market with its huge appetite for quality European goods. Korea is likely to see big gains in areas like manufacturing and access to competitive EU business services. Launching the negotiation in May, Mandelson said it represented the EU «turning towards a stronger focus on Asia».
The joint focus and priority of both the Korea and the EU is rightly on the Doha round – which will deliver trade benefits to both Korea and the EU that no single bilateral agreement can match. An EU-Korea FTA is a complement to an ambitious Doha Agreement, not an alternative to it. The focus on bilateral negotiations will be on areas that are not yet subject to WTO rules – investment, non-tariff barriers and certain services sectors.
The third round of negotiations will be held in September.
Read the full study of the potential economic benefits of the EU-Korea FTA
EU-Korea Trade
EU-Korea trade reached €60 billion in 2006. The EU is Korea’s second largest export destination after China. Korean exports to the EU include automobiles, consumer electronics, semi-conductors and ships. Important EU exports to Korea include machinery, chemicals and transport equipment. The EU also exports more than €1 billion in agricultural products like pork and wines to Korea every year.
Información obtenida de la de UE Comisión Europea (Dirección General de Comercio)