South Korea and Chile have convened the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) committee for the first time in a decade to discuss improvements to the agreement. The two countries plan to explore ways to expand trade and investment cooperation, including critical minerals, and review the current status of FTA implementation.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the 11th Korea-Chile Free Trade Committee meeting in Seoul on October 19. The meeting was attended by Park Geun-oh, Director of Trade Agreement Policy at the Ministry, and Felipe Lopenadia Bielant, Director of the Bilateral Economic Affairs Bureau at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who served as the chief representatives of their respective delegations.
This meeting follows an agreement made during a summit between the two countries' leaders in July to review the status of FTA implementation and discuss ways to enhance the agreement and expand trade and investment cooperation. Notably, this marks the first meeting of the Korea-Chile Free Trade Committee since the 10th meeting in 2016.
The Korea-Chile FTA, which took effect in 2004, was the first free trade agreement signed by South Korea. The trade volume between the two countries increased approximately 4.1 times, from $1.57 billion in 2003 before the agreement to $6.4 billion last year. The government views the Korea-Chile FTA as a crucial stepping stone for South Korean companies entering the Latin American market.
During this committee meeting, practical matters related to the implementation of the agreement will be prioritized. The two countries will discuss aligning item-specific origin criteria with the revised Harmonized System (HS) classification, transitioning from the current HS 2012 to HS 2022. They will also exchange statistics related to FTA utilization and discuss ways to enhance actual use of the agreement by businesses.
Advancing negotiations for improvements to the FTA will also be a key agenda item. The two nations will discuss mutual interests, including expanding economic cooperation in the minerals sector and improving the agreement.
This is not the first time discussions on improving the Korea-Chile FTA have taken place. In November 2016, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministers' Meeting, the two countries declared the start of improvement negotiations, with the first round of talks held in Seoul in November 2018.
Subsequent negotiations continued in 2019, 2020, and 2021, with the sixth round of improvement negotiations held virtually in October 2021. As more than 20 years have passed since the original agreement took effect, there has been a growing need to reflect changes in the trade environment, but further discussions between the two countries are necessary to reach a concrete improvement agreement.
Both countries are expected to discuss the potential for expanding supply chain cooperation based on Chile's abundant mineral resources and South Korea's advanced manufacturing capabilities. The Ministry stated, "We will continue discussions to strengthen the foundation for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and enhance the utilization of the FTA by businesses."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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