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| President Park Geun-hye and her Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto look at a photo album after their summit at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, Tuesday. The photo album was a gift from President Pena Nieto to Park. / Joint press corps |
Korea, Mexico agree to resume FTA talks
By Kang Seung-woo
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Tuesday that the federal government will mediate in a tax incentives row between Kia Motors and one of the country's states over the firm's assembly plant there, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
During a summit with President Park Geun-hye in Mexico City, Pena Nieto said he will instruct his secretary of the economy to help resolve the dispute "in a satisfactory manner," the presidential office said.
"President Park asked President Pena Nieto to actively intervene in the row and iron out any differences," said Ahn Jong-beom, the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.
In 2014, Kia, Korea's second-largest automaker, and the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon agreed to a $1 billion investment deal for the establishment of a manufacturing plant with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
Under the agreement, the state promised to provide land for the plant free of charge, and a five-year corporate tax exemption.
However, new Governor Jaime Rodriguez, who took office in June last year, wants to renegotiate some of the incentives, citing the state government's financial woes.
"As the Mexican federal government has vowed to actively intervene in the dispute, we expect some progress in efforts to end the row," Ahn said.
Also, during the summit the two heads of state agreed to resume working-level free trade talks, which had been suspended since 2008, later this year.
"Although Mexico is Korea's No. 1 trading partner in Latin America, there is still great potential to increase bilateral trade and investment. It is significant that we have agreed to hold working-level talks in the fourth quarter of this year to discuss the free trade agreement (FTA) and Mexico's support for Korea's accession to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) treaty," Park said in a joint press conference after the summit.
"I expect both sides to produce fruitful accomplishments by coming up with creative ways at working-level talks for a win-win situation."
Pena Nieto confirmed the agreement, saying, "The working-level meeting will render favorable results through creative measures for mutual benefit."
Korea and Mexico opened FTA talks in 2007, but they have been stalled since 2008 due to harsh opposition from the Mexican auto industry.
The trade volume between the two nations has grown from $1.2 billion in 1993 to $14.4 billion in 2015, making Korea the sixth largest trading partner of Mexico.
President Park has pushed for an FTA with Mexico, describing it as a win-win opportunity for both sides.
"An FTA between the two countries, if signed, could open a new gateway in Northeast Asia for Mexico, while Korea can expand its access to North, Central and South America," Park said in an interview with Mexico's major daily El Universal published, Sunday.
Regarding the TPP, comprised of 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, Japan and Mexico, Korea has expressed interest in joining the multilateral trade liberalization regime, which will become the world's single largest trading bloc, if approved, accounting for 40 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
"Mexico will support South Korea joining the TPP," Pena Nieto said.
On the sidelines of the summit, the nations agreed to boost their economic cooperation by signing 34 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) covering trade, investment, transportation, energy, hydro resources and healthcare.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, some of the MOUs could help Korean companies participate in infrastructure projects in Mexico, as the country is pushing for projects worth $590 billion to modernize the energy, transport and water resources management sectors.
"We secured a bridgehead for our companies to participate in energy projects worth $17 billion," said the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.
Along with the economic cooperation, President Park expressed her appreciation to the Mexican government for its zero tolerance toward North Korea's nuclear weapons and decision to faithfully implement new United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang.
"The Mexican president agreed to join international cooperation to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions," Park said.
