Asia Pulse reports that South Korea’s automotive exports to Chile have fallen by nearly half over the past eight years, largely due to the lack of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
Citing local automakers as source, the report says that shipments of Korean automobiles to Chile dived from 45,316 units in 1996 to 23,299 in 2003. The decline is attributed to weakened price competitiveness following Chile’s FTAs with a number of auto exporting countries.
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The carmakers warned that additional delays in ratification of an FTA bill pending at the Korean parliament would deal a further blow to auto sales in Chile, reported Asia-Pulse.
The report added that on Monday of this week, Korea’s parliament failed for the third time to ratify the agreement, which was signed by the two countries in February 2003.
The overall share of Korean vehicles in Chile’s auto market fell from 40 percent in 1996 and 1997 to just 18 percent last year.
