Photo : AP / Yonhap
South Korea and Serbia have finalized a comprehensive economic partnership agreement(CEPA), which will likely bolster trade and address global supply chain uncertainties.
The trade ministry said in a statement that Minister Yeo Han-koo signed the agreement in Belgrade with his Serbian counterpart, Jagoda Lazarević, some two years after the two countries kicked off negotiations in September 2024.
The agreement marks the first trade agreement with a Balkan country.
A CEPA is similar to a free trade agreement but emphasizes a broader scope of economic cooperation and exchanges beyond merely opening markets.
According to their agreement, South Korea and Serbia will remove tariffs on 90 percent of the items traded.
The ministry added that their agreement will also remove tariffs on imports of key materials from Serbia, including lithium, cobalt and nickel, helping stabilize supply chains for cutting-edge industries such as chips and secondary batteries.