The Republic of Korea (RoK) signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union on Oct. 6, becoming the first Asian country to liberalize its trade with the 27-member European bloc.
At the signing ceremony in Brussels , Belgium , the RoK President, Lee Myung-bak, said the agreement would bring huge economic benefits to both sides.
Under the FTA, the trade partners will eliminate 98.7 percent of duties for both industrial and agricultural products within five years from July 1 st , 2011 and eliminate remaining tariffs almost fully over longer periods.
According to the European Commission, the two-way trade between the EU and the RoK was valued at 54 billion EUR (equivalent to 75 billion USD) in 2009.
The EU is currently the second-largest importer of the RoK’s products and the RoK is the EU’s eighth-largest trade partner./.
At the signing ceremony in Brussels , Belgium , the RoK President, Lee Myung-bak, said the agreement would bring huge economic benefits to both sides.
Under the FTA, the trade partners will eliminate 98.7 percent of duties for both industrial and agricultural products within five years from July 1 st , 2011 and eliminate remaining tariffs almost fully over longer periods.
According to the European Commission, the two-way trade between the EU and the RoK was valued at 54 billion EUR (equivalent to 75 billion USD) in 2009.
The EU is currently the second-largest importer of the RoK’s products and the RoK is the EU’s eighth-largest trade partner./.
