한미 FTA개정의정서 2019년 1월 1일부터 발효
The revised Seoul-Washington free trade agreement will take force starting January 1st... putting an end to the series of discussions by the two sides held earlier this year to settle disputes regarding the six-year-old deal.
The government says the speedy execution is expected to lessen uncertainties regarding bilateral trade.
Kim Ji-yeon has the full story.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday... the U.S. and South Korea are to exchange written statements confirming they've completed the legal and procedural requirements for the revised FTA to take effect.
The revised deal was signed by the two countries in September and was ratified by the National Assembly in early December.
Under the revised deal, the two countries agreed that entities will be prevented from filing petitions in multiple jurisdictions under the Investor State Dispute Settlement provisions... and lawsuits that are filed without substantial evidence are to be promptly dismissed.
Also the two sides have agreed to notify each other in advance if they decide to impose tariffs... and to reveal how the rates were calculated and determined.
They also agreed to enforce strict rules when it comes to determining the place of origin of textile goods... and to establish a working group to verify the origin of goods.
The two sides also agreed to further discuss recognizing Korea's premium pricing policy for global innovative drugs, in which domestic drug developers can qualify for a 10-percent price premium on newly developed medicines.
On provisions related to the auto industry, the two countries agreed the U.S. will continue to impose 25-percent tariffs on imported light trucks and pickup trucks until 2040... rather than scrapping these tariffs in 2021 as initially scheduled.
Considering the imposition of auto safety regulations... South Korea is to double the number of U.S. car imports -- up to 50-thousand vehicles -- that it'll acknowledge as passing safety regulations equivalent to that of Korea's.
Regarding car emission standards, the two sides agreed to recognize the global 'eco-innovation credit'... which refers to any technology new to the auto market that contributes to significant CO2 savings... and takes into account American emissions when setting domestic standards.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.