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.