Trade Friction between EU and Korea in Auto Industry

The European Union(EU) has requested that Korean automakers lower carbon dioxide emissions for cars exported to the EU..
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade(MOFAT) revealed on January 17 that the EU intends to restrict imports of Korean-made cars unless Korean automakers satisfy new guidelines for emission controls.
EU delegates plan to visit Korea for negotiations with Korean carmakers and secure firm committments to lower the quantity of carbon dioxide from the current 186 grams per kilometer to 140g per km by the year 2008.
Recently, EU car manufacturers promised to lower harmful emissions to this level and the EU also requested the same of Japanese auto companies.
The EU notified MOFAT of that it will finish negotiations with Japanese and Korean carmakers and bring their repective agreement plans to a board of EU environment ministers sometime in March.
A source at MOFAT said, 'The imbalance in automobile trade between the EU and Korea seems to cause these requirements. The current technology of Korean carmakers cannot satisfy the emission requirement.'