During the European Parliament Plenary session held in Strasbourg between 14 and 17 February 2011, MEPs gave its consent to the most ambitious trade agreement the EU has ever negotiated. Thanks to the Parliament, the final text of the agreement includes a safeguard clause to protect European industry and the EU has received guarantees from Seoul that the new Korean legislation on car CO2 emission limits would not be detrimental to European car makers.

The long-awaited free trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea aims to eliminate about 98% of import duties and other trade barriers in manufactured goods, agricultural products and services over the next five years. It is expected to create new trade in goods and services worth 19.1 billion euro for the EU and save EU exporters 1.6 billion euro a year. It also covers trade-related activities such as government procurement, intellectual property rights, labour standards and environmental issues.

Under the agreement, not only will the 8% tariff on EU cars exported to Korea be removed, but EU car makers will be able to sell their products, produced according to EU specifications, without being subject to additional testing. South Korean textile and clothing tariffs currently stand as high as 10.06 %, and the agreement envisages the immediate elimination of much of the 60 million euro in duty levied annually on EU exporters. Moreover, the intellectual property chapter within the FTA will provide vital protection for EU trade marks, which will be applicable to both registered and unregistered designs.

Safeguard clause on EU-South Korea free trade agreement

In a second vote, the European Parliament approved the safeguard clause by 495 votes to 16 with 75 abstentions. This will allow the EU to suspend further reductions in customs duties or increase them to previous levels, if lower rates lead to an excessive increase in imports from South Korea, causing or threatening to cause "serious injury" to EU producers.

MEPs made a number of changes to the legislation. The European Parliament, as well as industry, will now have the right to ask the Commission to launch an investigation that could lead to activation of the clause; the Commission may now look at a wider range of factors when determining if any "injury" has been caused; and the definition of products subject to the safeguard clause has been clarified, which is of particular importance to the automotive industry. 

With this new agreement the European Union strengthens its position as first foreign investor in South Korea and its second largest trading partner after China, and it also provides additional tools to the Union's trade relations with South Korea which comes on top to others such as the five contact points opened by the Enterprise Europe Network opened in South Korea back in October 2010.