South Korea and Britain formally sign a bilateral free trade agreement

Source: Ministry of Commerce website August 28, 2019

According to the Korea Daily Economy report on August 22, in order to prevent the risks brought by the British \"Brexit\" and to ensure that the bilateral trade between South Korea and Britain is not affected by the British \"Brexit\", the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Korea Ministry of Trade and Energy negotiates with this Minister Yu Mingxi and British Trade Minister Elizabeth Trass officially signed the Korea-British Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in London on the 22nd. It is predicted that the South Korean government may complete parliamentary approval and other related procedures before October 31, when Britain is expected to leave the European Union.

According to reports, the Korea-British Free Trade Agreement has set up \"safety valves\" to eliminate the uncertainty caused by Britain\"Brexit\". In the event of \"No Brexit\", the agreement will take effect immediately on October 31\"Brexit\". The two countries also agreed to start negotiations again within two years of the entry into force of the agreement to develop the level of bilateral free trade agreements to a higher level.

It is reported that after the agreement comes into force, the current preferential trade conditions in the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement will be used, and 99.6% of South Korean exports to the UK will enjoy duty-free treatment (100% for industrial products and 98.1% for agricultural products). In the field of intellectual property, the two sides agreed to protect the geographical indications of 2 categories including British Scotch whisky and 64 categories including Korean agricultural products and alcohol.