Signal The Korea-EU FTA and digital agreements form the institutional base of bilateral economic ties

Summary

The Korea-EU free trade agreement, provisionally applied since 2011, covers not only tariffs on goods but also major non-tariff barriers, services and investment, intellectual property, government procurement, competition policy and sustainable development. It has served as the basic framework and core foundation of economic relations between the two sides. More recently the Korea-EU Digital Partnership and the Digital Trade Agreement have widened cooperation into semiconductors, artificial intelligence, data, next-generation communications and digital standards. A competitiveness partnership and a high-level economic dialogue at EU level provide further channels for coordinating the cooperation agenda. The report sees this accumulated framework as a base from which the two sides can respond together to the shifting global order.