Ford is asking for the recent European Union-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be thrown out in its current form.
The deal was inked this week in Brussels by the EU and Korea to “provide for the progressive liberalisation by both parties of trade in goods and services.”
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Specific provisions are made for the motor industry, but Ford has criticised the agreement as not allowing fair access for its brands to the Korean market.
“It is a one-way street,” a Ford Europe spokesman told just-auto. “We don’t see it will provide us with the kind of accessibility to the Korean market we are looking for.
“It is a bad deal at the moment, particularly for the European car industry – we would ask for a rejection.”
The FTA now goes back to national governments and Parliaments for ratification, but Ford says it will lobby to highlight the deal’s “shortcomings.”
“The European Parliament made some recommendations for safeguards to make sure we would not be flooded with Korean imports, but it does not go far enough,” said the Ford Europe spokesman.
“It is not just us. It comes down to the fact Korean is a market primarily structured around export.”
Ford added only around 35,000 EU cars were sold in South Korea last year, mostly in the premium sector.
The manufacturer noted the EU recognised there were “potential winners and losers” from the FTA, encompassing not just the automotive sector, but a wide range of products and services and insisted the deal could be improved.
“Even if that is the case, it does not help the car industry in Europe,” said the Ford spokesman. “We feel it is a badly negotiated deal that in its current form should not be ratified.”
Ford has also made representations to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
The FTA requires both parties to eliminate 98.7% of duties in trade value for both industry and agriculture within five years, and to eliminate remaining tariffs almost fully across longer periods.
