As the Korean and Chinese governments signed a preliminary free trade agreement deal on February 25,
the overall outline of concessions on manufactured items between the two nations has emerged.
At the time of reaching an agreement last year, the two sides were criticized for not publishing a detailed list on concession items. The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy released the list on the same day on its website.
The single Korean industry that will benefit most from the FTA will be steel making. Under the terms of the pact, the Chinese side will immediately abolish a 3-percent import duty on steel and angled steel bars. In addition, it will scrap a 2-percent and 4-percent duty on copper ingot and copper foil right after the agreement is in effect.
In contrast, the range of Korean market opening for Chinese-made goods is limited. The Korean government will eliminate the 6.5-percent duties on synthetic resins and the 8.0-percent duties on synthetic rubber and mobile OLEDs as soon as the pact is ratified by lawmakers in both countries. Within five years, import duties on petrochemical products (current rate of 6.5%), ferrosilicon (2.0%), motor parts (8.0%) will be removed.
In the same way as China, the Korean side will lift all duties on refrigerators (8.0%), washing machines (8.0%), and air-conditioners (8.0%) within ten years. Duties on LCD panels (current rate of 8.0%) will also be removed after nine years in two years' time.
Source: The Korea Economic Daily
