Trade Ministry publishes draft of Central America FTA

The Korean government published the first draft of a free trade agreement with five Central American countries on Monday.

The draft, which was posted online in English and Korean, comes five months after the government agreed on a provisional trade pact with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Nicaragua. The countries first began talks for an FTA in 2010.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will be accepting public comment on the draft until Oct. 13.

One notable line in the agreement stipulates that no country can raise existing duties or impose new tariffs on any originating goods unless otherwise specified in the FTA.

After the public comment period, the final version of the FTA will be submitted to Korea’s National Assembly for approval.

By Kang Jin-kyu