- Country or region
- South Korea
- Trade topics
- Dispute settlement
- Context
- Bilateral disputes
Summary of the case
The EU includes a dispute settlement mechanism in all its trade agreements so that the EU and its trading partners can resolve disputes.
The system allows for the rapid settlement of disputes and is modeled after the WTO dispute settlement system. It is specifically designed to deal with disputes arising out of the rules of the bilateral trade agreement.
On 17 December 2018, the EU requested formal consultations with the government of the Republic of Korea regarding the implementation of the sustainable development commitments under the EU-Korea trade agreement.
On 4 July 2019, the EU requested a panel to address its concerns after previous efforts to resolve the issues at stake had failed.
Documents
- Expert panel Conclusions | Report - 25 January 2021
- Report of the hearing, prepared by the parties - 8/9 October 2020
- Oral Statement of the European Union for the hearing - 1 October 2020
- Korea labour commitments: panel timeline under Covid-19 - 15 September 2020
- Postponement of the hearing - 31 March 2020
- First written submission by the European Union - 20 January 2020
- Procedural information related to EU-Korea dispute settlement on Labour - 19 December 2019
- Request for the establishment of a Panel of Experts by the European Union - 05 July 2019
- Request for Consultations by the European Union - 17 December 2018
Latest news
The panel report published today confirms the EU’s concerns that Korea has not acted consistently with its trade and sustainable development obligations under the EU-Korea trade agreement.
Korea labour commitments panel timeline under Covid-19 restrictions.
Both Parties and the Panel have agreed that under the current restrictions in view of limiting the spread of Covid-19, the hearing will be postponed.