Trade in goods under the Korea-EU FTA : market access and regulatory measures

Abstract

This chapter has shown two sides of the EU–Korea FTA. On the one hand, it is a very traditional trade agreement, largely based on existing WTO provisions. This is particularly the case in those parts of the agreement concerning border measures. On the other hand, in particular, concerning the sector-specific rules on technical barriers to trade, the agreement is quite innovative and breaks new grounds, with respect to the regulation of domes- tic instruments. It has also been established that the Agreement is, to a large extent, a ‘living instrument’. Many of the remaining lacunae in the field of domestic regulation must be dealt with in the future, through cooperation and consultations within the different committees and working groups. This is the Agreement’s approach to tackle its endogenous incompleteness, which is inherent in any trade agreement. From this angle, the EU–Korea FTA may not only be understood as a static body of rules, but also as a framework for collaboration that helps to find prompt and appropriate responses to changes in real-world conditions, thus facilitating trade relations between the parties in the long run. In other words, the various committees and working groups are an in-built mechanism to improve the incomplete contract in a relatively inexpensive manner. Only time will tell, if the agreement will live up to this expectation.