Thursday, 26/07/2018 16:50 (GMT+7)
The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Trade Ministry on July 25th announced it would start negotiations with members of the Pacific Alliance (PA) for associate membership in the Latin American trade bloc.
Myeongdong, Seoul in the Republic of Korea (Source: AFP/VNA)
According to Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong, although RoK is one of the top 10 exporting nations, Korean companies have been put at a disadvantage in the Mexican market against rival companies from the United States, European Union and Japan with the lack of a free trade deal.
"The agreement in the PA membership is meaningful in that it paves the way for entering the Mexican market, 10 years after the bilateral trade negotiations were halted in 2008,” he added.
The PA is a Latin American trade bloc, formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which all border the Pacific Ocean.
These countries have come together to form an area of integration with the purpose of ensuring complete freedom in the movement of goods, services, capital and people. Together, these four countries have a combined population of 210 million people and about 35% of the region's GDP.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray had welcomed RoK’s decision to apply for associate membership in the bloc, whose leaders are meeting in the western Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta this week.
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Canada were last year admitted as associate memberships by the alliance./.
Compiled by BTA