(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on July 14) - Korea-EU FTA

President Lee Myung-bak and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, in his
capacity as president of the European Union, yesterday announced the conclusion
of negotiations on a free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union in
Stockholm. With the FTA with the European Union clinched, Korea has progressed to
the forefront of the global process of free trade. The landmark pact will bring
the two major economic players closer, with cheaper trading of goods and
services, and help expedite free trade with other regions, specifically the
United States.
Actual implementation of the FTA with Europe is not quite at hand. Time-consuming
procedures remain, including translating the text into 23 different languages,
reviews by the 27 member states and the final ratification by the European
Parliament and the National Assembly here. But it is widely believed on either
side that the "delivery" of the Korea-EU FTA will not be nearly as bumpy as the
Korea-U.S. FTA, facing less public - and political - resistance.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the European Union's Article 133
Committee finally agreed on sensitive issues including tariff drawbacks and rules
of origin that had remained unsettled when Korea and the European Union reached a
provisional accord late last March, after eight rounds of negotiations since May
2007.
The European Union is already Korea's second-largest trading partner - the nation
recorded a surplus of $18.4 billion in 2008 from a two-way trade volume of $98.4
billion. But the FTA does not just mean cheaper German cars, Scotch, Bordeaux,
Parmesan and designer dresses. Its impact will be significant in the areas of
agriculture, chemicals, machinery, pharmaceuticals and other industries. European
banking, logistics and legal services firms will make greater inroads into the
Korean market to force local businesses to seek necessary restructuring.
Beyond these direct consequences, there is a good reason that the Korea-EU FTA
should be given a stronger push. It would place the United States at a relative
disadvantage in the Korean market and a sense of urgency would be created to spur
the U.S. government. The Obama administration has been procrastinating on the
KORUS FTA while promoting a favorable atmosphere in the U.S. Congress toward the
trade pact. Presidents Lee and Obama agreed on the need for an early ratification
of the FTA in their latest meeting in Washington last month.
Our unhappy experiences in recent years made FTA synonymous with violent protests
in the street and partisan clashes in the National Assembly. Now is the time for
political parties, farmers' groups, labor unions and anti-globalization bodies to
graduate from their usual methods of opposing trade pacts and make meticulous
calculations on their advantages and disadvantages. If needed, they should demand
the government take corroborative measures.
If Europe needs Korea as a sort of beachhead in the Asian region, Korea should
make a strategic thrust into the European continent in its global expansion as a
major trading nation.
(END)