UK automobile makers are celebrating a two-year extension to rules which help British firms to access lower or zero tariffs when selling goods to South Korea.
The extension has been secured under the UK-South Korea free trade agreement and comes as welcome news for businesses who can proceed to avoid the high tariffs imposed by South Korea on products entering the country.
South Korea is the thirteenth largest economy on the earth and set to grow rapidly with an import market expected to grow 45% by 2035. The UK’s trade with Korea has greater than doubled for the reason that original FTA was negotiated.
Goods make up nearly all of UK exports to South Korea, with £7.3 billion price exported last 12 months. A broad range of British manufacturing sectors are expected to learn from the extension, including food and drinks and automotive, which is the second largest British export to South Korea.
Minister for International Trade Nigel Huddleston said that when the UK negotiated the unique trade agreement with South Korea, rolled over from our membership of the EU, time-restricted clauses were agreed to permit for using EU content in UK products in meeting the EU-South Korea rules of origin and on shipping goods via the EU. Each clauses were set to run out on 1 January 2024.
“The extensions will apply for an additional two years while the UK and South Korea work on recent, everlasting rules as a part of an enhanced free trade agreement. Today’s agreement allows for each parties to increase this era further, if needed, “ he said.
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Mike Hawes said: “We welcome this announcement because it avoids the re-imposition of duties from January 2024. In the primary half of the 12 months, South Korea was our seventh biggest automobile export market and the third biggest supplier of recent passenger cars for UK buyers – so duty liabilities would have been bad for either side.
“We sit up for the beginning of negotiations and swift conclusion of a modernised trade deal that delivers more advantages to our respective automotive sectors, particularly boosting trade in EVs and related technologies.”
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
