Colombian trade minister pledges progress on FTA

Luis Plata. By Oh Sang-min

Korea and Colombia will work to finish their free trade agreement negotiations as early as this year and ratify the pact by the end of next year, Luis Plata, Colombia’s minister of trade, industry and tourism said yesterday in a one-on-one interview during a short visit to Seoul.

Plata said he would ensure Korea would be the first Asian country Colombia will ratify an agreement with.

“We’ve only had three rounds of negotiations [with Korea], so we’re still in the early stage of the process, but hopefully this year we’ll be able to close the negotiations,” the minister said. “Colombia and Korea have been close for a long time. Colombia was one of the few countries that actually sent troops to Korea during the Korean War in the 1950s, and that historical closeness will turn into a trade and commercial closeness as well.”

The two sides started negotiating for an FTA in December last year. Plata noted the bilateral benefits both countries could gain, especially in the automotive sector.

“Colombia can become an interesting hub for Korean auto firms to either produce or assemble products, integrate local value and use Colombia as a hub to establish businesses in other Latin American nations,” Plata said, noting that Colombia already has trade pacts with Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.

“The trade deal with Colombia will open new horizons for Korean firms to get access to much larger markets in Latin America, of at least 500 million people.”

The minister was here with a delegation of Colombian auto parts manufacturers, and he planned to urge Korean automakers to invest in Colombia, perhaps by establishing manufacturing plants and forming alliances with local companies. So far, there is no ongoing bilateral investment in the sector.

Today, the minister was expected to meet with executives at Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo Bus Corporation.

“There is a very large and deep network of auto parts manufacturers in Colombia, which is important for foreign firms investing, as having a strong local sector that can provide things they need is important and more efficient,” the minister said. Currently, there are around 130 auto part producers operating in Colombia, of which most of which are based locally.

Plata, who had just arrived from Japan, hinted, “Japan is very concerned that Colombia is much further ahead with Korea ... Colombia has already completed three rounds with Korea, but hasn’t even started negotiating with Japan.”

Regarding a possible trade pack with China, the minister said, “It’s not time yet” and noted, “There are a lot of concerns of Chinese products massively entering Colombia, so the country is not really prepared to negotiate an agreement with China.”

As part of his trip, the minister is expected to ask for support for Colombia’s membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, now prevented by a moratorium on new members. Plata hopes the moratorium will be lifted during the APEC summit in Japan in November.

By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]