“Korea and Canada to Sign an FTA by November”

Korea and Canada decided to proceed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), aiming at the settlement by November this year.

Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong, who is in charge of trade negotiations and is currently visiting Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum (a.k.a. Davos Forum), agreed on January 27 to make efforts to conclude successfully the bilateral FTA negotiation with Canada’s Trade Minister Jim Peterson before the APEC summit slated to be held in November this year in Busan.

The two nations’ trade ministers have reportedly agreed to cooperate aggressively in rule negotiations, not least the Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA).

Meanwhile, the Korean and Canadian governments held the first preliminary negotiation from January 25 to 26 at the Korean Foreign Ministry building to review basic policies of the bilateral FTA and discuss details on products, services and investment, and intellectual property rights.

The preliminary talks took place based on the consensus between the leaders of the two sides to conduct a feasibility study at the APEC summit meeting in Chile last November.

“We have reached a consensus that a free trade agreement is necessary between the two countries,” the Deputy Director-General for FTA Affairs Kim Han-soo said and added, “If the actual negotiation is launched after the preliminary talks scheduled in late March, a bilateral FTA can be concluded by November.”

Dong-Keun Keum Jae-Seong Hwang gold@donga.com jsonhng@donga.com