Korea’s trade with FTA signatories jumps

Korea saw its trade with seven economic entities with which it has free trade agreements jump over the past few years, government data showed Monday.

South Korea’s trade with those entities came to $296.1 billion in 2011, or 27.4 percent of its total trade volume of $1.08 trillion, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. That is up from 14.6 percent in 2009.

The entities include Singapore, Chile, Peru, the European Free Trade Association, the European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The increase is attributable to recently-enforced FTAs with the European Union and Peru, which went into effect in July and August, respectively, the customs office explained.

Korean exports to FTA signatories amounted to $166.8 billion, or 30 percent of the total, while imports stood at $129.4 billion, or 24.7 percent, the data showed. That resulted in a trade surplus of $37.4 billion with them.

Korea’s trade ratio with FTA signatories is expected to grow further down the road as Seoul is preparing to enforce an FTA with the U.S., the world’s largest economy, customs officials said. 

(Yonhap News)