The Eu-South Korea Free Trade Agreement

The Agreement contains provisions on trade policy remedies with reference to relevant WTO rules and provides for additional disciplines for such measures, including notifications and enhanced consultations. 1 The EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement in practice – see page 3 2 South Korea: Trade image, European Commission, December 2019 The EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement promotes the enforcement of intellectual property rights by customs authorities and complements the minimum standards of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The EU-South Korea trade agreement offers you better opportunities to apply for South Korean public contracts. The EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement had been provisionally in force since July 2011, before its formal ratification in December 2015. Most industrial products, including fish and other seafood products, will have duty-free access to their markets from the entry into force of the agreement. For certain products imported into Korea, customs duties are to be abolished after a transitional period or after joint verification by the Parties (Annex V and Annex VI). They can benefit from a more open South Korean services market under the trade deal. The Agreement establishes a high level of protection of intellectual property rights (Article 7(1)-(3) and Annex XIII), which covers areas such as patents, trademarks and copyright, and in some areas goes beyond what is provided for in the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and other international agreements and treaties. NOTE: The trade agreement applies to customs duties and not taxes.

VAT applicable to imports into the EU or South Korea still has to be paid. The EU-South Korea trade agreement protects European Geographical Indications (GIs) for the free trade agreement on non-tariff barriers, notably in the automotive, pharmaceutical, medical device and electronics sectors. The agreement lists the GIs covered by two annexes. The agreement also provides for bilateral cumulation. Materials originating in South Korea may be considered as originating in the EU when used in the manufacture of a product in the European Union and vice versa. The specific electrical and electronic products covered by the Agreement and the provisions relating thereto are set out in Electronic Annex 2-B and its Annexes. The agreement has created new opportunities for access to services and investment markets and contains provisions in areas such as competition policy, government procurement, intellectual property rights, regulatory transparency and sustainable development. . . .