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South Korea–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement

The South Korea–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement is a proposed free trade agreement which began negotiations on 22 November 2023.[1] The trade agreement would be the third FTA to cover South Korea–UK trade, superseding the South Korea–UK Trade Agreement; extending the deal to cover digital trade. In 2021, 80% of the UK's services exports, in areas from legal advice to management consultancy, were delivered digitally.[2]

History

From 1 July 2011 until 30 December 2020, trade between South Korea and the United Kingdom was governed by the European Union–South Korea Free Trade Agreement, while the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union.[3] Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the UK and South Korea signed a continuity trade agreement on 22 August 2019, based on the EU free trade agreement; the agreement entered into force on 1 January 2021.[4][5]

Negotiations

On 9 December 2022, South Korea and the United Kingdom announced their intentions start talks on a modernised free trade agreement; the agreement would supersede the South Korea–UK Trade Continuity agreement.[6] Trade negotiations formally opened on 22 November 2023.[1][2]

KUKFTA Round of Negotiations
Round Dates Location Ref.
1 23–25 January 2024 Seoul [7]
2 19–22 March 2024 London [8]
3 5–14 November 2024 Seoul [9]
4 10–21 March 2025 London [10]

The first round of negotiations concluded on the 25 January 2024.[11][7]

The second round of negotiations concluded on the 22 March 2024.[8][12] After the 2024 United Kingdom general election negotiations resumed on 5 November 2024.[9]

The fourth round of negotiations focused on areas including rules of origin, a comprehensive digital trade chapter, as well as making progress on agreeing new cooperation commitments covering areas such as the environment, trade and gender equality and supply chains.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Johnson, Lord Dominic; Badenoch, Kemi (21 November 2023). "UK and South Korea to launch talks on new trade deal as Korean businesses back Britain with £21 billion of investment". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Kim, Sam; White, Lucy (20 November 2023). "South Korea's Yoon to Talk AI in UK as Trade Negotiations Begin". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  3. ^ "EU - Korea, Republic of". World Trade Organization. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  4. ^ Truss, Elizabeth (21 August 2019). "UK and Korea to sign trade continuity deal to ensure businesses are ready to trade post-Brexit". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  5. ^ Song, Jung-a; Giles, Chris; Rovnick, Naomi (10 June 2019). "South Korea agrees deal with UK for post-Brexit trade". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  6. ^ Hands, Greg (9 December 2022). "UK kicks off process to negotiate new trade deal with South Korea". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b Bin, Hyun (25 January 2024). "1st round of Korea-UK FTA upgrade negotiation". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Korea and UK to hold 2nd official negotiating round on upgrading bilateral FTA". Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 19 March 2024. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  9. ^ a b Alexander, Douglas (28 November 2024). "Republic of Korea Upgraded Free Trade Agreement: Round Three Negotiations". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b Alexander, Douglas (8 April 2025). "Update on Free Trade Agreement negotiations with South Korea". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  11. ^ Hands, Greg (8 February 2024). "Republic of Korea Trade Negotiations Update". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  12. ^ Smith, Josh (20 March 2024). "S.Korea's Yoon vows more cooperation with Britain as trade talks resume". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.

Media related to Relations of South Korea and the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons