RoK trade officials participate in the fourth round of negotiations with Cambodia, held virtually, to seek a free trade agreement. (Photo: Yonhap)Seoul (VNA) – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of theRepublic of Korea (RoK) on February 3 said the country and Cambodia haveclinched a free trade agreement (FTA) after seven months of negotiations.
The two countries plan to hold an official signing ceremony in the near future.The pact also needs a parliamentary approval.
The RoK and Cambodia launchedfeasibility studies on the FTA after holding a summit in March 2019. The firstround of negotiations kicked off in July last year.
This is the first FTA that was negotiated via virtual meetings in history.
Under the deal and also when combined with the upcoming Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP), Cambodia will lift tariffs on 93.8 percent of allproducts, with the RoK eliminating duties on 95.6 percent.
Particularly, Cambodia will remove duties for the RoK’s key exports, includingtrucks, passenger cars, and many agricultural products such as strawberries anddried seaweeds.
Trade exchange between the RoK and Cambodia topped 1 billion USDin 2019; however, the value fell in 2020 due to impacts of COVID-19.
Earlier, the RoK signed free trade pacts with three ASEAN memberstates of Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The RoK government expects that the signing of the FTAs will helpits enterprises set up stable investment and trade markets./.
VNA
