Korea trade deal a step closer
Momentum building for historic Korea trade deal
Strasbourg, 7th September 2010
Another crucial step has been taken towards the ratification of an historic free trade deal between the EU and Korea today, Robert Sturdy MEP, the parliament’s rapporteur on the agreement, said today.
He was speaking after MEPs voted on amendments to a safeguard clause to be built into the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which would enable the EU to reintroduce Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to areas where it is felt liberalisation is causing serious injury to EU industry.
A final legislative resolution will be deferred to a future session, following further negotiations with the Council of Ministers, but Mr Sturdy said that the votes today show that there is strong support for the agreement in the parliament. The FTA will bring about an unparalleled series of tariff liberalisation and dismantling of technical barriers to trade, enabling EU businesses to gain extensive and comprehensive access to the Korean marketplace. It will immediately remove €1.6 billion of export duties levied annually on EU exporters of industrial and agricultural products, and €1.1 billion levied on Korean exporters.
The deal is expected to save the EU agricultural industry €380 million, whilst the services sector (inducing financial services, telecoms and environmental services) could expect to see a 70% rise in trade volume.
After the votes Mr Sturdy said: “This will be one of the most historic trade agreements signed by the EU and it will deliver some much-needed good news for the European economy. This is the first FTA of its kind and I hope that it will set a precedent for future trade deals. ”Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, auto parts, shoes, spirits and medial equipment exporters will all see substantial savings after tariffs are removed. Non-tariff barriers to trade such as technical standards for cars or certification procedures for consumer electronics will also be broken down. ”The long-term benefits of this deal will be substantial for the EU and the adoption of this safeguard clause will help prevent short-term pain. The EU needs to send a signal that it is open for business and that it will not resort to protectionism at a time of economic difficulties. ”I hope that we can now move forward to approve this deal as swiftly as possible.”
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The parliament today voted on the amendments to the Bidegain report on bilateral safeguards in the EU-Korea FTA. Mr Sturdy is the rapporteur for the overall agreement.
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