An assessment of the EU-Korea free trade agreement

The free trade agreement negotiated between the EU and the Republic of Korea (EU-Korea FTA or the Agreement) is far-reaching. In terms of the scope of tariff liberalisation it goes beyond anything the EU has agreed in previous agreements. The coverage of services is also ambitious. In a range of other measures, such as the treatment of technical barriers to trade, protection of intellectual property rights including geographic indicators, as well as provisions on dispute settlement and sustainable development the Agreement breaks new ground. It therefore represents forward movement on trade at a time when multilateral negotiations in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) continue to stagnate and international trade needs of promoting in the wake of the financial crises induced slow down