WT/COMTD/RTA13/M/1  
5 November  2020 
(20-7896) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Trade and Development  
11th Dedicated Session on Regional Trade Agreements   
 
  
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST  
ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN) AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (GOODS)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 29 SEPTEMBER  2020 
Chairman: H.E. Mr. Mohammad Qurban Haqjo (Afghanistan)  
1.  The 11th Dedicated Session on Region al Trade Agreements (RTAs) of the Committee on 
Trade  and Development (CTD)  was convened in document WTO/AIR/COMTD/RTA/6/Rev.2 of 
18 September 2020.  The meeting allowed for both in -person and virtual participation. Under 
item B (III) of the agenda , the Committee considered the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between 
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Republic of Korea (Goods) 
(WT/COMTD/RTA13/N/1, WT/COMTD/RTA13/1, WT/COMTD/RTA13/2 ). The present document 
contains the min utes relating to the consideration of this agreement.1 
2.  The Chairman  said that t he goods aspe cts of the FTA  between ASEAN and the Republic of 
Korea were notified by the ASEAN parties under paragraph 4(a) of the  Enabling Clause on 
6 July 2010. The notification was originally circulated on 8 July 2010 in document 
WT/COMTD/N/33, and then re -circulated on 14 January 2020 in document WT/COMTD/RTA13/N/1, 
in accordance  with the new symbols for notifications and subsequent documentation relating to 
RTAs agreed to by the CTD at its 108th Session on 5 April 2019. He recalled that the goods aspects 
of the agreement were also notified under GATT Article XXIV – by the Republic of Korea  – on 
15 June 2010 in document WT/REG287/N/1. The Committee on R egional Trade Agreements 
(CRTA)  undertook its consideration of the goods aspects of the agreement at its meeting of 
27 July 2020. The factual presentation on the agreement – document  WT/COMTD/RTA 13/1 dated 
14 January 2020 – had been prepared by the Secretariat  on its own responsibility, and in full 
consultation with the parties. Written questions from Brazil and the  United States, as well as the 
replies from the parties, had been  circulated in document WT/COMTD/RTA13/2.  
3.  The representative of Thailand , on behalf of ASEAN, welcomed  the opportunity to present  the 
ASEAN -Korea FTA to the CTD . He said that ASEAN and Korea had signed the Framework 
Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation on 13 December 2005 , and had concluded 
the Agreement on Trade in Goods under the Framework Agreement on 24  August 2006. The 
Agreement on Trade in G oods entered into force for all p arties in June 2007. Building on existing 
WTO commitments, the ASEAN -Korea FTA provided  for the progressive li beralization of trade 
between ASEAN and Korea through subs tantial sectoral coverage. The agreement improved  
market access between ASEAN and Korea on a wide range of sectors , and allowed  90% of the 
products traded between ASEAN and Korea to enjoy duty -free treatment.  The a greement 
contained  21 articles , and could  be divided into f our chapters. Chapter I provided definitions and 
scope of the a greement applicable to measures affecting tra de in goods. Chapter II contained  the 
main obligations and disciplines imposed on the p arties, including national treatment on internal 
taxation and r egulation. Chapter III addressed the p arties' specific commitments covering 
transparency ; rules of origin ; quantitative restriction s and non -tariff barriers ; sanitar y and 
phytosanitary (SPS) measures ; as well as safe guard measures. Chapter IV dealt  with final and  
institutional provisions. The agreement contained an annex on rules  of origin. M odalities for tariff 
reduction and elimination for tariff lines placed in the  normal trac k and in the sensitive track were 
also incorporated into the a greement. He went on to say that the ASEAN -Korea FTA had  played a 
 
1 The general minutes of the CTD's 11th Dedicated Session on RTAs are contained in document 
WT/COMTD/RTA/M/11.  WT/COMTD/RTA13/M/1  
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  vital role in further strengthening ASEAN -Korea dialogue relations, especially in trade and 
investment. Since the AS EAN-Korea FTA came into force in  2007, bilateral trade value had  
increased by more than 178% – to USD 156.48 billion in 2019, up from USD 56.23 billion in 2006. 
In addition, Korea's foreign direct investment (FDI) to ASEAN amounted to US D 2.56 billion in 
2019. Korea was  currently the fifth  largest trading partner of ASEAN , and the tenth largest source 
of FDI into ASEAN.  He said that ASEAN was  fully committed to the rules -based multilateral trading 
system (MTS)  under the WTO. Through the collective effort of liberalizing and expanding tr ade in 
goods in the region, the ASEAN -Korea FTA complemented and strengthened  the multilateral 
framework towards the progressive liberalization of trade in goods. In closing, h e expressed 
appreciation to Brazil and the United States for their questions, and indicated the ASEAN parties’ 
willingness to respond to any further questions from Members.  
4.  The representat ive of  the Republic of  Korea  indicated  that his delegation saw great merit in the 
Transparency M echanism  for RTAs (RTA TM), as it kept  Members informed of recent developments 
in other Members’ RTAs,  and p rovided  opportunities for a deeper understanding of them. He hoped 
that the process would  help Members to bett er understand the Agreement on Trade in G oods 
between Korea and ASEAN. After the commencement of the Korea -ASEAN FTA negotiations in 
December 2004, Korea and ASEAN had officially signed the deal in August 2006, brought it i nto 
force in June 2007, and had  been smoothly implementing the a greement s ince then.  Under the 
Korea -ASEAN FTA , there were different schedules of tariff elimination on trade in goods for Korea 
and the ASEAN -6 (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) ; 
for Korea and Viet  Nam; and for  Korea with Cambodia , Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) 
and Myanmar . This was  in recognition of the different stages of economic development among the 
parties. The tariff elimination schedules the parties agreed to follow in  principle were  as follows: by 
2010,  Korea w ould elimi nate 90.8% of its tariff lines – while f or the ASEAN -6, Brunei  Darussalam 
would eliminate  99.24%  of its tariff lines ; Indonesia 91.1% ; Malaysia 91% ; the Philippines 93.3% ; 
Singapore 100%, and T hailand 88%. By 2016, Viet N am w ould eliminate 90.1% of its tariff  lines; 
and by 2018, Cambodia w ould eliminate 91.1% of its tariff lines, Myanmar 92.48% and Lao PDR 
89.93%.  Since the entry into force of the FTA in June 2007, the bilateral trade volume between 
Korea and ASEAN had increased by  110%, from USD 72 billion in 2007 to USD 151 billion in 2019. 
His delegation was confident that this trend would  continue against the backdrop of close 
cooperation between the parties . Korea and ASEAN were currently negotiating to improve the 
market acces s condition for sensitive goods. The goa l was  to maximize the effects of the 
agreement so that both countries could  enjoy additional benefits.  In closing, h e agreed with  
Thailand that the agreement complemented  and strengthen ed the multilateral framework towar ds 
progressive liberalization of  trade in goods. He thanked Brazil and the United States for the 
questions submitted before the meeting, and encouraged other delegations to submit any 
questions they may have on the agreemen t.  
5.  The representative of the United States  thanked the parties and the Secretariat for the 
transparency on this agreement, which she observed was long overdue. She also note d that, in the 
view of the United States, this agreement should have been notified  only under GATT Article XXIV, 
and not  the Enabling Clause.  
6.  The representative of the European Union  expressed her delegation’s appreciation to the 
parties for the transparency provided.  
7.  The representative of Brazil  thanked the parties for the answers provided to the questions from 
her delegation, and for having taken part in the transparency exercise.  
8.  The representative of Thailand , on behalf of  ASEAN , said that he wished to refer to the view 
shared by the United States  that the ASEAN -Korea FTA  should have been notified only under 
GATT  Article XXIV, and not the Enabling Clause. He noted that, to date, the United States had  not 
provided any specific reasons to support this view. He also noted that there was  precedent for 
FTAs to be notified under  both the Enabling Clause and GATT Article XXIV. According to the 
WTO’s  Agreements and Decisions, each developing Member could determine the provisions under 
which it notified  an FTA. The ASEAN -Korea  FTA was properly notified under the Enabling Clause , as 
it fell under p aragraph 2(c) of the Enabling Clause.  
9.  The representative of Malaysia  associated his delegation with the intervention by Thailand . The 
understanding of his delegation, based on document WT/REG/16  dated 23 November 2006, was 
that notifying Members had  the right to decide under which provision the RTA should be notified.  WT/COMTD/RTA13/M/1  
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  10.  The Chairman  said that  oral discussion of the FTA between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea  
could be concluded  in accordance with paragraph 11 of the RTA TM . Follow-up questions  by 
Members would need to be submitted in writing to the Secretariat within one week, 
by 6 October  2020. The parties would then  be given two weeks to submit written replies, by no 
later than 20 October 2020. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the RTA TM , all written 
submissions as well as the minutes of the present  meeting would  be circulated promptly in all WTO 
official languages, and would  be made available on the WTO website.  
11.  The Committee took note  of all interventions.  
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