Deal saves Korean EVs from tariffs but risks locking in China dependence, diverging from US and EU economic security

The upgraded ROK-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) represents a successful defensive operation for South Korea. Facing the expiration of critical post-Brexit waivers that threatened to slap a 10% tariff on Korean electric vehicles (EVs), Seoul has successfully extracted a regulatory concession that preserves its price competitiveness in one of Europe’s largest auto markets.

While Seoul and London tout the deal as having “future-proofed” their trade relationship, the fine print reveals a more complex reality. The agreement functions less as a market opener and more as a regulatory patch that allows Korean firms to maintain their increasingly precarious industrial model: exporting high-tech goods assembled by using Chinese supply chains.

The upgraded ROK-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) represents a successful defensive operation for South Korea. Facing the expiration of critical post-Brexit waivers that threatened to slap a 10% tariff on Korean electric vehicles (EVs), Seoul has successfully extracted a regulatory concession that preserves its price competitiveness in one of Europe’s largest auto markets.

While Seoul and London tout the deal as having “future-proofed” their trade relationship, the fine print reveals a more complex reality. The agreement functions less as a market opener and more as a regulatory patch that allows Korean firms to maintain their increasingly precarious industrial model: exporting high-tech goods assembled by using Chinese supply chains.

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