The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Seoul and Beijing to hold new round of FTA negotiations

By Korea Herald

Published : May 22, 2014 - 20:23

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South Korea and China will hold a fresh round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement next week, the government said Thursday.

The 11th round of South Korea-China FTA talks will be held from Monday through Friday in China’s Sichuan, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

“The two sides are set to hold comprehensive, in-depth discussions on all areas of FTA from products, service and investment to regulations and cooperation,” it said in a press release.

The negotiations hit a stumbling block at the latest round in March over the level of market liberalization.

The countries have agreed to liberalize their markets for about 90 percent of all products traded between them but have yet to decide which products would be excluded.

China is said to be asking for greater access for its agriculture products to the South Korean market, a demand strongly opposed by farmers here.

The Korea-China FTA negotiations began in May 2012. (Yonhap)