South Korea’s cabinet approves the free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia, bringing both countries one step closer to the implementation of the agreement, local media reported Tuesday.
BACGROUND: Colombia,South Korea sign FTA
The two countries will formally sign the agreement on February 21, after which the FTA will be submitted to both parliaments for legislative approval.
Colombia’s ambassador to South Korea, Jaime Alberto Cabal, claimed that the agreement would be “very positive for Colombia.”
Under the FTA, within ten years of its implementation tariffs on 96.1% of Colombian and 96.7% on Korean goods will be removed.
The agreement is expected to come into force no later than by the end of the first half of 2013.
Colombia also has a FTA with the European union (EU), which is currently pending approval from the Colombian congress.
BACKGROUND: Europe urges Colombia to speed up FTA