REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Report on the Implementation of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement
Date: 2014-02-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: South Korea, economic statistics, exchange of information, export (EU), free-trade agreement, interim agreement (EU), protective clause













EUR-Lex - 52014DC0109 - EN











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52014DC0109

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Report on the Implementation of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement /* COM/2014/0109 final */









REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
Annual Report on the Implementation of the
EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement
1.           Introduction
1 July 2013
marked the second anniversary of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU
and its Member States and the Republic of Korea (‘Korea’), which has been
provisionally applied since July 2011[1].
It is the first of a new generation FTA, characterised by its far-reaching and
comprehensive nature. It is also the EU's first trade deal with an Asian
country. 
This is the
second Annual Report on the implementation of the FTA, in accordance with the
provisions of Regulation (EU) No 511/2011 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 11 May 2011 implementing the bilateral safeguard clause of the Free
Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States and the Republic of   Korea[2].
According to Article 13(1) of the said Regulation, the Commission shall make
public an annual report on the application and implementation of the Agreement.
Furthermore, Article 3(3) stipulates that the Commission shall present an
annual monitoring report to the European Parliament and the Council on updated
statistics on imports from Korea of products in the sensitive sectors and those
sectors to which monitoring has been extended. This report therefore combines
these two reporting requirements.
2.           Overall assessment: evolution
of trade and duty savings
2.1.        Methodology used for the
analysis
The below
analysis of the bilateral trade flows between the EU and Korea is based on a comparison of data for the second year of implementation of the FTA
(July 2012 – June 2013) compared to the year before the FTA was provisionally
applied (July 2010 – June 2011). 
It should be
noted that changes in trade flows cannot be attributed solely to the FTA, as
also other factors influence trade flows. However the figures provided below
give a good indication of how the FTA has worked so far, and in particular the
upward trend in preference utilisation rates shows that EU-businesses are
increasingly making use of the FTA, although there is still room for
improvement in this respect.
2.2.        Evolution of overall trade
flows (goods) 
EU exports of
goods to Korea have increased by 24 %, or EUR 7 billion, in the second year of
implementation of the FTA, compared to the year before the FTA was
provisionally applied. The increase in exports was however less marked in the
second year of the FTA (8 %) than in the first year (15 %)[3]. 
When comparing
with exports of goods to the rest of the world, which has increased by 17 % in
the same period, the trend with Korea is considerably more positive than with
most other countries.
In contrast,
imports from Korea have decreased by 6 % in the second year of implementation,
compared to the year before the FTA was provisionally applied, almost all of the
decrease being attributable to the second year of the FTA. In value terms
imports have fallen from EUR 38 billion to EUR 35.7 billion. Imports from the
rest of the world has on the contrary increased by 4 % in the same period,
which means that the weak performance of Korean exports cannot solely be
explained by generally falling demand in Europe. There are, however, other
reasons behind this trend, such as decreased exports from Korea of ships, due to the global overcapacity and oversupply. Exports of ships were not
helped by the FTA since the EU tariff was zero already before the FTA. Another
reason behind the weaker performance of Korean exports is the relocation of
electronics production from Korea to South East Asia, meaning that these
products, which are doing very well world-wide and in the EU, are not being
exported from Korea under FTA preferences but rather from other Asian
countries.
As a
consequence, the trade balance with Korea has gone from a deficit of 20% or EUR
-7.4 billion to a surplus of 6 % or EUR 2.3 billion when comparing the year
before the FTA was provisionally applied with the second year of its
implementation. This is the first time in 15 years that the EU has a trade
surplus with Korea.
2.3.        Evolution of trade in
liberalised goods 
Many goods were
duty-free even before the FTA, whereas others were not immediately liberalised by
the FTA. To have a better overview of potential effects of the FTA one should
therefore study not the overall trade flows but divide the trade flows into
groups depending on changes in applied tariffs.
For goods fully
liberalised as part of the FTA, EU exports to Korea have increased by 37 %, or EUR
4.5 billion, compared to the year before the FTA was provisionally applied.
This can be compared to an increase of 18 % of exports of the same goods to the
rest of the world. The fact that exports to Korea of these goods increased more
than exports to the rest of the world, combined with the fact that goods receiving
preferential treatment in Korea increased more than overall exports indicate a
positive effect of the FTA. Had exports to Korea only developed in line with
exports to the rest of the world they would have amounted to EUR 2.3 billion of
less exports. 
For goods only
partially liberalised[4],
export performance was less impressive (+24%), and only a little better than
exports of the same goods to the rest of the world (+19 %). However, within
this group the export performance of goods with a sharp tariff reduction is
stronger (31%), than for goods with a more modest tariff reduction, which
increased by 20 %. 
As regards imports
from Korea, even if they have deceased overall, this is not true for goods with
preferential access granted by the FTA. The decrease can rather be attributed
to reduced demand in the EU for goods already having zero Most Favoured Nation
(MFN) tariffs, such as ships, as explained above. Imports of fully liberalised
goods from Korea increased by 21 % and of partially liberalised goods by 23 % (trade
with non-liberalised goods are marginal). Total EU imports from the rest of the
world of these products have remained flat in this period and thus it seems
that the FTA has had a positive effect also on Korean exports to the EU. 
2.4.        Duty savings and
preference utilisation
Potential duty
savings are sizeable even before the full implementation of the FTA. Duties
potentially saved on EU's exports to Korea amounted to around EUR 1.4 billion
in the second year of the FTA compared to what should have been paid with the
same trade flows at pre-FTA tariff levels. This is a reduction of 77 % of the
tariffs paid before the FTA.
 
In reality FTA
preferences are not always used by exporters. The preference utilisation rate
of EU exports to Korea, i.e. the extent to which preferential tariffs are
applied in practice by business, was 66 % in the period March-June 2013. This
is a slight increase compared with the period September 2012-February 2013 when
it was 64 %[5].
As for Korean
preference utilisation on the EU market, the figure, in the year 2012, was 77
%, implying that Korean exporters are making better use of the FTA compared to
the EU exporters. There are many reasons for this, one being that on the Korean
side exporters are often big, export driven, chaebols whereas on the EU side
the industry is more fragmented. 
2.5.        Sectoral effects,
including the automotive sector
EU exports of
cars to Korea increased by 40 % in value and 38 % in units, compared to the
year before the FTA was provisionally applied. There was a modest 4% increase
in exports in the first year of the FTA followed by a significant increase of
34% in value terms and 29 % in unit terms, in the second year. The trend in car
exports to Korea is considerably more positive than to the rest of the world,
where an increase of 24% in value terms and 25% in units was recorded.
Imports of cars
(HS8703) from Korea have increased by 53 % in value terms and by 36 % in terms
of units. A sharp increase in the first year of the FTA was followed by a
stable second year. 
Compared with
imports of cars from the rest of the world, Korean cars have made clear
advances on the EU-market. Imports of cars from the rest of the world have
decreased by 7 % in value terms and 14 % in units. This implies that, both in
value and units, the Korean share of EU car imports increased.
EU exports of
cars to Korea amounted to EUR 2,8 billion in the second year of the FTA whereas
Korean exports to the EU in the same period amounted to EUR 4 billion, hence a
trade deficit of EUR -1.2 billion.
As regards other
sectoral effects, the greatest gains of EU exports in the Korean market can be
noted in the minerals sector (HS27) with a EUR 2.6 billion increase in exports,
although this appears to be unrelated to the FTA. The fully liberalised
machinery and mechanical appliances sector (HS84), however, recorded big gains,
with EUR 1 billion in increased exports. Only a few sectors have recorded a
decrease in exports to Korea. The greatest drop in exports can be noted for the
iron and steel sector (HS73) with a decrease of EUR 317 million in the second
year of the implementation of the FTA compared to the year before the FTA was
provisionally applied. 
As for imports
from Korea, it is noteworthy that imports of electrical machinery (HS85) and
ships (HS89) have fallen considerably, both by more than 3 billion euros. In
the case of ships this constitutes a 53 % reduction in import value, compared
to the year before the FTA was provisionally applied. Apart from the increase
in imports of motor vehicles, there was no large increase in imports in any
other sector. 
2.6.        Services 
Services trade
data is produced with a severe time lag and is very aggregated, making it
impossible to make the same kind of up-to-date and detailed comparisons as with
goods. The comparison has thus been made for calendar year 2011, compared to
2010, i.e. the year when the FTA was “half implemented” compared to the calendar
year before the FTA was provisionally applied.
On this basis,
EU exports of services (GATS modes 1 and 2) to Korea increased by 9 % in 2011
compared to 2010. At the same time imports of services from Korea decreased by 2 %, leading to a strengthened surplus in the EU’s favour, in respect of
trade in services. 
3.           Activities of the
implementation bodies established under the FTA
The
institutional provisions of the FTA envisaged the establishment of seven
Specialised Committees, seven Working Groups and an Intellectual Property (IP)
Dialogue. The annual EU-Korea FTA Trade Committee at ministerial level plays a
supervisory role and is designed to ensure that the FTA operates properly. 
In 2013 most
meetings of the various committees and working groups took place only in the
second half of the calendar year, in view of the reorganisation of the Korean
Government in spring 2013, following the election of Ms Park Geun-hye as
President. As part of this reorganisation, trade matters moved from the former
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the newly created Ministry of Trade,
Industry and Energy. 
Since the second
meeting of the Trade Committee, which took place on 16 October 2012 in Brussels, 7 specialised committees and 6 working groups met before the end of 2013, as
follows:
On 26 November
2012, the second Customs Committee was convened in Brussels. It adopted
the rules of procedure and discussed various aspects of the implementation of
the FTA, including the direct shipment clause, textiles and apparel products,
the possibility of concluding a Mutual Recognition Agreement for Approved
Economic Operators (AEO) and the “Made in EU” marking. Parties also continued
the discussions on the interpretation of the specific rules of origin for
surimi with a view to reach an agreement.
 
On 27 November
2012, the Working Group on Trade Remedy Cooperation met for the first
time in Brussels. During the meeting, both sides exchanged information on their
respective practices and legal grounds for introducing anti-dumping and
countervailing duties.
The second
meeting of the Committee on Trade in Services, Establishment and Electronic
Commerce was held on 12 June 2013 in Brussels. Both sides discussed a broad
range of issues in the areas of postal and courier services, transportation
services, financial services, distribution services and legal services. As regards
postal services, it is worth noting that the work on the postal reform
principles has to be concluded by June 2014. The Committee also addressed
issues related to e-commerce and establishment. 
On the same day,
12 June 2013, the Working Group on Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) for
Services gathered, also for the second time, in Brussels. Both sides
expressed their common interest in promoting MRA in the field of architecture
and engineering and shared the understanding that relevant stakeholders and
business associations would discuss substantive aspects as soon as possible.
On 11 September
2013, Korea hosted the second meeting of the Committee on Trade and
Sustainable Development in Seoul. During the meeting, both sides briefed
the Committee on the work of their respective Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs)
and exchanged views on each side’s environment and labour policies, including
in the area of climate change (emission trading schemes), sustainable
consumption and production, liberalisation of trade in environmental goods,
labour market policy in the aftermath of the economic crisis, health and safety
at work, as well as ratification of the International Labour Organisation
conventions. In addition, the EU side outlined its recent initiatives to combat
illegal logging and related trade. Both sides discussed also cooperation under
Annex 13 of the FTA. In addition, a Labour Workshop and the Civil Society Forum
were organised on 12-13 September 2013 by Korean and EU DAGs. 
On 12 September
2013, the Committee on Trade in Goods met for the second time in Seoul. The Committee agreed on the substantive elements of the TRQ administration, thus
enabling both parties to start their respective procedures to prepare a
Decision by the Trade in Goods Committee. The Committee discussed various
implementation issues in areas such as transparency in introducing new
regulations, alcoholic beverages, organic equivalency, cosmetics, electronic
and electrical products, machinery, and photovoltaic industry. 
The second meeting
of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures took place also
on 12 September 2013, in Sejong City. The Committee discussed issues such as
the operational procedures of the Committee, cooperation on animal welfare
issues, beef, exports of kiwis and oranges, labelling and transparency in
introducing SPS measures and Samgyetang soup. In the margins of the meeting, a
one-day confidence building seminar was also organised on 11 September. The
Korean side presented its import risk analysis and quarantine procedures for
animal products, whereas the EU side presented, among other things, the
measures in place to guarantee the safety of animal products during animal
disease outbreaks.
On 13 September
2013, the Committee on Outward Processing Zones (OPZ) on the Korean
Peninsula met for the second time in Seoul. Korea gave an update on the
situation related to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, the inter-Korean factory
park located in North Korea. Korea presented criteria for OPZ, conditions for
the designation of Gaeseong as OPZ and maximum threshold. Both sides
acknowledged the political sensitivity of the issue but agreed to take on a
practical approach in discussing technical aspects. 
On 25-26
September 2013, the second round of meetings of the three Working Groups on
Motor Vehicles and Parts, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices and Chemicals
were organised in Seoul.
 
The Working
Group on Motor Vehicles and Parts discussed certain FTA implementation
issues as well as other market access issues in the automotive sector. These
included sales of EURO 5 OBD-equipped vehicles in the Korean market,
evaporative gas emissions standards, plans for new regulations on CO2 emissions
in the EU, procedures for the use of E-mark for tyres, plans for new diesel vehicle
emissions regulations, the End of Life Vehicle directive, fuel efficiency, tyre
energy efficiency, convergence of regulations and UNECE WP29, marking of car
parts, vehicle classification and towing tractor for semi-trailer.
The Working
Group on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices discussed the Korean reform of
the reimbursement price of pharmaceuticals, evaluation of medical device price,
a change in the comment period for pharmaceutical reimbursement decisions and
quality testing of pharmaceuticals. Korea presented a request for a work
program with a view to concluding an MRA for Good Manufacturing Practices
(GMP). Both sides agreed to explore how to further enhance cooperation in this
area. 
The Working
Group on Chemicals exchanged information on each side’s REACH. Korea explained its plan to introduce implementing decrees and ensure transparency during
the process. The EU offered its perspectives on the implementation of its
REACH. Both sides tentatively agreed to exchange contact information in each
side to facilitate technical cooperation. 
On 25 October
2013, the Working Group on Geographical Indications (GIs) met for the
first time in Seoul. The draft rules of procedure were discussed but not yet adopted.
The main subject of the meeting was the EU’s proposal to include new EU GIs in Annex
10-A of the FTA. The EU emphasised the interest that EU Member States attach to
GIs and the importance of increasing the list by as many GIs as necessary. Korea also announced the intention of proposing Korean GIs to the said Annex. 
On 5 December
2013, the Committee on Cultural Cooperation met for the first time in Brussels. The meeting was an opportunity to exchange information on the EU’s and Korea’s respective policies in the field of culture and audio-visual. The Committee also
adopted its rules of procedure and assessed the implementation of Articles 5.4,
5.5 and 5.6 (on the entitlement to co-productions) of the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation.
It is noteworthy that as set out in the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation, the
Trade Committee has no jurisdiction over the Protocol and the Committee on
Cultural Cooperation thus exercises the functions of the Trade Committee as
regards that protocol.
The third
meeting of the Trade Committee took place on 15 October 2013 in Seoul. It was co-chaired by Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Korea's Minister for Trade,
Industry and Energy, Mr Yoon Sang-jick. The Committee assessed the development
of bilateral trade after two years of implementation of the FTA and concluded
that both parties have benefitted from the FTA, in particular when looking at
fully or partially liberalised trade where exports on both sides have gone up.
Both sides raised their respective implementation issues, including the marking
of car parts, FTA commitments in the services sector, outward processing zones,
and enforcement of the FTA. Both sides welcomed the progress made on amending
the FTA in view of Croatia’s EU accession and discussed the state of play
regarding other FTA amendments requested by the EU, including a revision of the
direct transport clause, a clause on goods re-entering after repair, the
inclusion of truck-tractors and amending some obsolete standards in the car
sector.
Finally, the EU-Korea
Summit took place on 8 November in Brussels. The EU was represented by the
President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the
European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. Korea was represented by President
Park Geun-hye. Both sides shared the view that full implementation of the FTA
is important and encouraged their trade officials to continue their discussions
in order to find solutions to the implementation issues identified by the FTA
committees and working groups, including the EU-Korea FTA Trade Committee, with
a view to bringing the expected benefits to all layers of economic stakeholders
on both sides. Both sides also welcomed the agreement on the text of the
Additional Protocol to the FTA, to take into account Croatia’s accession to the
EU on 1 July 2013 and agreed to expedite the process, leading up to the signing
and provisional application of the Protocol. They also agreed to continue
working together in ensuring the functioning of the FTA, in the spirit of the
strategic partnership. 
4.           Implementation of Chapter
13 of the FTA concerning Trade and Sustainable Development
The second
meeting of the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development (CTSD) was held
in Seoul on 11 September 2013. During the meeting both sides welcomed the open
and constructive discussions on trade related environmental and labour policy
issues as a good basis for further dialogue. The Committee tentatively agreed
to hold its next meeting in the first half of 2015. 
A labour related
workshop took place in the margins of the Committee meeting, on 12 September.
It was attended by members of the Civil Society Forum (CSF) which is the joint
forum between the Korean and the EU Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs). Upon
request by the Commission and the EU DAG, other stakeholders not members of the
two respective DAGs also attended the workshop. Interventions included
presentations of the views of the DAGs on implementation in the law and
practice of the ILO core labour standards related to forced labour and freedom
of association, as well as the right to collective bargaining, which have not
been ratified yet by Korea. As regards freedom of association and the right to
collective bargaining, some participants referred to recommendations of the ILO
supervisory bodies, notably the Committee on Freedom of Association issued for Korea. Presentations were followed by an open discussion between the DAGs and the other
interested stakeholders.
Finally, the
co-chairs of the CTSD gave an update of the Committee’s discussions to the Civil
Society Forum, which was held on 13 September. The update was also sent to the
Council and the European Parliament. The Civil Society Forum discussed its
rules of procedure, its conclusions of the workshop, green growth and
international trade. 
5.           Implementation of
Regulation (EU) No 511/2011 
Regulation (EU)
No 511/2011 is the EU's internal legislation to implement the bilateral
safeguard clause of the EU-Korea FTA. 
As provided for
in Articles 3 and 11 of Regulation (EU) No 511/2011, the Commission has been
monitoring the evolution of imports and exports of Korean products in sensitive
sectors potentially affected by duty drawback such as cars, car parts, textiles
and consumer electronics. Since the provisional application of the FTA in July
2011, the Commission has been sharing the results of its monitoring with the
Member States, the European Parliament and the relevant stakeholders every two
months.
The said
Regulation also provides for the possibility to initiate a safeguard
investigation or to introduce prior surveillance measures, under certain
conditions defined in the Regulation. During the second year of implementation
of the FTA, the Commission did not receive any requests for initiating a
safeguard investigation or introducing prior surveillance measures.
5.1.        Evolution of Korean
imports into the EU in the sectors covered by the monitoring
The results of
the monitoring during the second year of implementation of the FTA are
summarised below together with the corresponding graphs. It should be noted
that for the purpose of the monitoring the comparison of the trade data has
been made on a year-to-year basis and thus some figures may differ from the
general trade analysis under point 2 above, where a different method of
comparison has been used. 
It should be further
noted that the comparison under the monitoring exercise is based on quantities
imported from Korea to the EU, i.e. pieces in the case of cars and 1000 kg in
the case of car parts, textiles and electronics. 
(i) Car sector
Imports of cars
from Korea into the EU increased by 41% in the first year of implementation of
the FTA (July 2011 - June 2012) compared to the year before the FTA was
provisionally applied (July 2010 - June 2011). This increase was followed by a
decrease of 13% of imports in the second year of FTA implementation (July 2012
– June 2013) compared to the previous year. The decreasing trend is valid for
cars with small engines, as well as for cars with medium – large engines.
Looking at the long term trends, the car imports seem to have stabilised at a
significantly lower level than that of the July 2007 – June 2008 period. 
As regards imports
of car parts, a sharp increase of 47% took place in the first year of
implementation of the FTA compared to the year before the FTA was provisionally
applied. This increase was in line with the increasing trend which began
already in the period July 2008 - June 2009. However, in the second year of FTA
implementation, imports of car parts increased by a mere 2%, compared to the
first year of implementation, which suggests that import levels have stabilised.

(ii) Textile sector
Imports of Korean textiles decreased by 16% in the first year of FTA
implementation compared to the year before the FTA was provisionally applied.
This trend continued with a further decrease of 6% in the second year of FTA
implementation, compared to the previous year. 
(iii) Electronics sector
Imports of Korean electronics increased by 8% in the first year of
implementation of the FTA compared to the year before the FTA was provisionally
applied. This increase was followed by a decrease of 13% in the second year if
implementation compared to the first year. 
5.2.        Duty drawback
Specific monitoring by the Commission was also
carried out on the issue of duty drawback in relation to the rules of origin as
provided for in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 511/2011, in order to
assess the foreign content in the Korean manufacturing process and thus in the exports
of final products from Korea to the EU. 
The analysis focused on quantities of products
subject to monitoring during the first six months of 2013, compared to the same
period in 2012. 
In the electronics sector, the evolution
of Korean imports to the EU has evolved mainly in the following HS codes:
8519.81, 8521.90, 8526.92, 8527.21, 8528.51, 852871 and 8528.72. For some of
these codes imports fluctuated throughout the year, but without showing any major
overall increase or decrease. Imports into Korea of parts of these products
have decreased: for HS 8522, there was a decrease in imports from China (-20%) and Japan (-52%), whereas for HS 8529 there was a slight decrease from China (-0,29%) and a more significant decrease from Japan (-6,9%). 
As regards textiles, the only
significant increase of imports from Korea to the EU involved products of HS code
5205 (+37%). For this product, the Rule of Origin allows the importation of
products of cotton natural fibres. On the contrary, for product in HS code 5509
imports decreased by 67%. 
Regarding cars, there has been a global
increase of Korean imports to the EU (+4,9% on average) within HS code 8703, even
though this increase does not apply to all types of cars but depends on the
size of the engine. In the meantime, imports of inputs of car components of HS
code 8708 into Korea have also increased in a similar proportion, by 6% from China. At the same time imports of similar parts from Japan decreased by 27%. 
Based on the above, it can be concluded that
until now the allowance of duty drawback for the products subject to specific
monitoring does not seem to have had any significant impact on the
manufacturing pattern of Korea. In particular, it did not lead to an increase
of imports of inputs from Korea’s neighbouring countries.
6.           Conclusion
Based on two
years of implementation of the FTA, it is clear that in terms of development of
bilateral trade, the FTA has worked very well overall in particular for the EU.
Exports of goods increased by 24% or € 7 billion in the second year of
implementation compared to the year before the FTA was provisionally applied.
In comparison, EU exports to the rest of the world increased by 17% during the
same period. While imports from Korea decreased by 6%, mainly due to reasons
which are not directly linked to the FTA, imports of fully or partially liberalised
goods developed positively for both the EU and Korea, increasing more than
exports overall. Exporters are also increasingly making use of the preferential
tariffs, with increased utilisation rates in particular on the EU-side,
although there is still room for improvement in this area.
The focus
remains on the proper implementation of the FTA so that exporters can enjoy the
benefits they expected from it. Some implementation issues persist, notably in
the sector of motor vehicles and parts. Discussions on these issues will
continue in the context and follow-up of the meetings of the various Committees
and Working Groups established by the FTA, with the view to finding mutually
acceptable and workable solutions, in line with the letter and the spirit of the
FTA.
In the margins
of the EU-Korea Summit in November 2013, the EU and Korea initialled the
Additional Protocol amending the FTA in view of Croatia’s EU accession. Discussions
to amend the FTA further to make it more trade-facilitative, will continue. These
amendments are in the interest of both sides and will eventually benefit
exporters and consumers in the EU as well as in Korea. 
[1]               The FTA is provisionally applied in the EU until all
EU Member States have ratified it. The state of play of the ratification can be
checked on the Council's Agreements website: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/agreements/search-the-agreements-database?command=details&id=&lang=en&aid=2010036&doclang=EN
[2]               OJ L 145, 31.5.2011, p. 19
[3]               The percentages refer to +15 % in the first year of
the FTA compared to the year before the FTA and +8 % in the second year of the
FTA compared to year 1.
[4]               There is also a group of goods not liberalised at
all, but this group represents only 2 % of all tariff lines and 1 % of all
trade in goods.
[5]               Since the data does not include information on which
imports were eligible for preferences, it has been complemented with figures on
Korean MFN tariffs and on preferential tariffs for the EU from the Market
Access Database.