At the signing ceremony in Brussels, Belgium, RoK President Lee Myung-bak said the agreement will bring huge economic benefits to both sides.
Under the FTA, the trade partners will eliminate 98.7% of duties for both industrial and agricultural products within five years from July 1st, 2011 and eliminate remaining tariffs almost fully over longer periods.
According to the European Commission, the two-way trade between the EU and the RoK was valued at EUR 54 billion (equivalent to US$75 billion) in 2009.
The EU is currently the second-largest importer of the RoK’s products and the RoK is the EU’s eighth-largest trade partner. (VNA)
