South Korea hopes to sign free trade pact with ASEAN states

South Korea hopes to sign free trade pact with ASEAN states

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Seoul

South Korea hopes to sign a preliminary accord on trade
liberalization with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), when President Roh Moo-hyun attends a summit with
leaders from ASEAN countries in Malaysia next month, officials
said on Tuesday.

South Korea has given the conclusion of negotiations on a Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) with the ten members of ASEAN within this
year a high priority, since an agreement on trade in goods
between China and the Southeast Asian trade bloc came into effect
in July.

The South Korean government expects that the planned FTA with
ASEAN will strengthen the competitiveness of Korean companies in
Southeast Asia.

South Korea and ASEAN member countries plan to scrap tariffs
imposed on 90 per cent of goods of their total trade volume by
2012.

The discussions with ASEAN the FTA are in the final stage, an
official at the bureau for FTA affairs at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade in Seoul said.

But the two sides have still to agree, among other things, on
what specific trade items will be excluded from the agreement, he
said.

South Korea wants to sign a deal on Dec. 13, on the sidelines
of a meeting in Kuala Lumpur with leaders from ASEAN countries
and South Korea, Japan and China.

ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.

ASEAN is South Korea's fourth-largest trading partner after
China, the United States and Japan. Its major export products to
ASEAN countries are cars, plastics, textiles and steel products.

In July this year, South Korea concluded FTA negotiations with
the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), making it Korea's
third FTA partner following Chile and Singapore. EFTA is composed
of four non-EU countries -- Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and
Lichtenstein.