ISDS Case Map
Korea
The new chief of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday that the long-stalled Korea-US free trade agreement will not undergo renegotiation, but didn't rule out "further bilateral discussions" regarding provisions related to the auto sector.
Chile has asked for a revision of the Korea-Chile free trade agreement, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Sunday. Chile wants Korea to open its agricultural market wider.
"For Europe, the deal with Korea was easy. The US had already negotiated a trade pact of its own that was ready to go in 2006. Details of the EU-Korea treaty are nearly identical, so it's obvious the Europeans just Xeroxed the US-Korea pact and will now walk off with the spoils," write a US business journal.
President Barack Obama faced increased pressure on Thursday to win approval of a free trade deal with South Korea after the European Union locked up its own pact with Asia's third-largest market.
The European Union and South Korea on Thursday signed a free trade deal which Brussels said would be worth 19 billion euros (28 billion dollars) in new trade for EU exporters.
Last weekend's news that South Korea and China had agreed to begin serious negotiations aimed at forging a free trade deal took many analysts by surprise, leading some to ask: What's in it for Seoul?
A free trade pact between Korea and China is expected to pick up pace after the two countries on Saturday agreed to consider the deal. But a bumpy road is expected because of sensitive issues, such as agriculture.
A free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union will eventually increase bilateral trade by about 20 percent if it is fully implemented, British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson estimated yesterday.
Indonesia is upbeat on its growing trade with China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand following plans to set up Free Trade Area (FTA) pacts with those countries under the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean) agreement and by bilateral agreements, a senior official at the Indonesian Trade Ministry said here on Monday.
