Korea is gearing up to have this new free trade agreement take effect as early as this
year. THAT means... Korean businesses will get to
enjoy the benefits from tariff cuts starting January 1st.
Our Kim Min－ji breaks down the economic impact from Korea， China FTA.
Over the next 10 years，... the Korea－China FTA is expected to boost Korea′s real GDP
by almost one percent... and create over 53－thousand new jobs.
″The government is working closely with China and modifying related rules for the
trade deal to take effect this year. If this happens， tariffs will immediately be cut
the day it takes effect and again on January 1st.″
Under the deal， Seoul will eliminate import tariffs on 79 percent of all products from
China within a decade，... while Beijing will do the same on 71 percent of all products
from Korea. In 20 years，... duties will be removed on
over 90 percent of all goods. That translates to over five billion dollars
less in tariffs paid by exporters every year.
″Korea′s free trade agreement with it′s largest trading partner， China，... is
expected to provide new momentum for local exports，... that have fallen consistently
every month this year.″ The FTA is expected to boost annual bilateral
trade between the countries to more than 300 billion U.S. dollars，... up nearly 40 percent
from 2012. In addition，... the deal gives Korea price
competitiveness over rivals in China′s huge consumer market.
″Korea′s early advancement into the Chinese market， earlier than our competitors，
like the U.S.， and Australia， is critical for Korea′s long term success in the Chinese
market.″ Like many other trade deals， the agriculture
sector has been a sticking point. But experts say the level of liberalization
for the agro－fishery sector is lower compared to Korea′s other FTAs.
″Korea was able to protect highly sensitive products， including rice. There′s going
to be damage to some sectors， but we can′t say it′s entirely because of the FTA.″
The government says that further opening of China could give Korea′s agriculture sector
more opportunity to make inroads into the Chinese market.
Kim Min－ji， Arirang News.