Korea, UK open talks to upgrade free trade agreement
![President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a meeting with Koreans living in the United Kingdom on Monday, local time, in London, during his four-day visit to the country. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2023/11/21/c14a9c49-d937-480e-9586-9848929134c2.jpg)
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a meeting with Koreans living in the United Kingdom on Monday, local time, in London, during his four-day visit to the country. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
Korea and Britain will initiate negotiations to revise their free trade agreement (FTA) conditions as part of joint efforts to “upgrade” the existing partnership.
The announcement by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy came on Tuesday during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s four-day state visit to the United Kingdom, which began on Monday.
The two countries also agreed to bolster their economic ties in energy, semiconductors, AI, defense and construction, with business deals worth 270 billion won ($209.3 million) coming up on Wednesday along with 31 memorandums of understanding (MOUs).
The negotiations will officially kick off on Wednesday upon Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu's and British Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch’s signing of a joint statement during the U.K.-Korea Business Forum, three years after the deal initially went into effect.
The first official round of negotiation will take place in Korea in January next year.
“Through this visit, we will renew bilateral security cooperation between the countries and initiate negotiations to improve FTA conditions in a bid to upgrade our ties in supply chain and trading, while also extending our existing partnership into AI, nuclear plants, bioeconomy, space technology, semiconductors and clean energy,” said President Yoon Suk Yeol during a meeting with Koreans who are living in Britain on Monday, local time.
The negotiation aims to establish a comprehensive, future-oriented trade relationship to bolster supply chain resilience and economic security, which reflects the fast-changing global trade environment, according to the ministry.
The upcoming revisions to the FTA will aim to facilitate further supply chain cooperation between the two parties by streamlining the administrative process in trading; removing technological barriers in clean energy and bioeconomy and encouraging foreign investments; enabling a barrier-free environment for data transfers and other digital trading; and improving the origin criteria for duty-free exports.
The Korea-U. K. FTA was signed in 2019 after seven rounds of meetings and took effect in 2021 following Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. Korea was the first country in Asia to sign the post-Brexit trade deal with the U.K.
The deal, aimed at retaining free trade between the two countries following Brexit, extended tariff exemptions for major export items and established three-year grace period in which products transported via the EU will be treated the same as those shipped directly to Britain.
Annual trade between Britain and Korea is worth 18 billion pounds ($21.9 billion), according to the British government.
The president plans to attend the U.K.-Korea business forum slated for Wednesday alongside some 200 business executives from both countries.
Companies including KyungDong Navien, Hyosung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Aerospace will sign contracts worth some 270 billion won during the forum.
BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)