S Korea may make concessions to spur EU trade talks

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SEOUL, Oct 10 (AFP): South Korea may improve its tariff concessions during next week's talks with the European Union to try to give the free trade negotiations fresh impetus, the commerce ministry said today.
Talks began in May but the first three rounds made slow progress, notably due to differences on automobiles and pharmaceuticals. The two sides, which hope to reach a deal this year, will hold the fourth round in Seoul next week.
"In order to keep the momentum of talks flowing we are trying to see if further concessions can be made," said Hong Suk-Woo, deputy minister for trade and investment.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-Hoon held a one-hour meeting with EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson in Brussels this week, Yonhap news agency reported.
They agreed the talks should be completed as soon as possible but the EU demanded that Seoul match the tariff concessions it gave the United States in separate negotiations, it quoted officials as saying.
The EU has offered to eliminate or phase out all of its tariffs on South Korean goods within seven years, and remove tariffs on 80 per cent of them within three years.
South Korea offered to eliminate tariffs on most industrial goods within three years, and eliminate them on roughly 68 per cent of all EU goods as measured in value within the same timeframe.
On the thorny car trade issue, Brussels wants Seoul to apply international standards instead of more demanding domestic rules on imports. South Korea wants an improvement in Europe's offer to eliminate a 10 per cent tariff on imported autos within seven years.
South Korea sold 74,000 autos worth 9.1 billion dollars in Europe last year while buying only 15,000 vehicles worth 1.6 billion.
A deal with the EU would be the biggest ever for South Korea, surpassing an agreement signed in June with the United States which awaits ratification by legislatures in both countries.
The EU is South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China, with bilateral trade reaching 79 billion dollars in 2006. It is the largest foreign investor, with investments worth 40.4 billion dollars as of the end of 2006.