France Wants to Save Auto Industry by Canceling South Korean Free Trade

Why should a company have to compete by building a better a car when they can keep foreign competition out with the help of the government? That is the opinion of French automakers at least because they are lobbying the French government to ask the European Commission to effectively cancel the year-old free trade agreement with South Korea. 

The French government has asked the European Commission to require South Korea to give advanced notice on car exports coming into the EU. This is the first step in canceling the free trade agreement between South Korea and the EU that was passed last year.

Since the free trade agreement was passed, sales of Korean cars have increased in the EU by 24%. What the French automakers are asking for would give them advanced warning about Korean cars coming into Europe. It would allow them to know Korean shipments into the EU before the Korean automakers announced them in quarterly reports. 

"The European Commission confirms it has received a note from the French authorities requesting ... prior surveillance measures for South Korean car imports. The Commission is reviewing carefully the request," said EU trade spokesman John Clancy.

The free trade agreement between the EU and South Korea includes a clause that allows the EU to re-impose tariffs if European industries are harmed too much by imports. 

Source: Automotive News