Improvement in Local Market Entry Conditions for Key Items Like Automobiles, Cosmetics, and Pharmaceuticals
Official Signing of the First FTA by the New Government…Expected Expansion of Exports to the Latin American Market,
Ye Han-gu, Deputy Minister for Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, meeting with U.S. Representatives Beth Van Duyne and Richard McCormick at the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 14th last month. © Newsis, ‘[Dailyan = Reporter Lim Eun-seok] With South Korea’s official signing of the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) with Ecuador, diversification into the Latin American market is becoming more prominent. As the first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) under the new government, it is expected to improve the local market entry conditions for key items such as automobiles, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, K-food, and content.’,
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, ‘The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Deputy Minister for Trade Ye Han-gu and Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries Luis Alberto Jaramillo would hold bilateral trade minister talks in Seoul on the 2nd and officially sign the Korea-Ecuador SECA agreement.’,
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, ‘The SECA (Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement) supplements the existing tariff benefit-centered FTA with various economic cooperation elements such as environment, labor, supply chain, and healthcare.’,
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, ‘South Korea and Ecuador officially concluded the overall negotiations in October 2023 after nine rounds of official negotiations since the initiation of discussions in 2016. With the completion of the official signing, the Korea-Ecuador SECA is set to go through remaining procedures such as parliamentary ratification to take effect.’,
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, ‘Ecuador is rich in energy resources like oil (3rd in Latin America) and copper, and is considered a promising market with low investment risk due to its stable political situation among Latin American countries and its use of the U.S. dollar as currency.’,
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, ‘Our government plans to use Ecuador as a bridgehead to diversify export markets into Latin America.’,
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, ‘Once SECA takes effect, tariffs on our automobiles, currently subject to tariffs as high as 40%, will be eliminated within 15 years (35% for hybrid cars, within 5 years), securing advantageous market access conditions compared to major competitors like China (elimination within 20 years) and Japan (no FTA).’,
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, ‘Additionally, with the spread of Korean wave in Latin America, tariffs on consumer goods like cosmetics and ramen, as well as pharmaceuticals, are expected to be abolished, leading to an expansion in related exports. Sectors such as online games, distribution, films, and music, which enjoy popularity locally, will be opened, thus enhancing consumption and export of K-content.’,
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, ‘Before the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister Ye emphasized in the bilateral trade minister talks that “Amid increasing uncertainties in the global trade environment, bilateral FTAs are effective means to strengthen export competitiveness and diversify markets” and expressed hope that “by signing SECA, the two countries’ companies will secure a foothold for export expansion and market diversification, and actively utilize various economic cooperation grounds within SECA, such as cooperation in supply chain crises, IT, and small and medium-sized enterprises, to establish future-oriented cooperative relations.”‘,
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, ‘Both sides agreed to expedite the remaining procedures necessary for SECA’s implementation, such as parliamentary ratification requests.\n’