South Korea rejects French auto claims: report
(SEOUL) - South Korea on Wednesday dismissed as "groundless" claims by France that its auto market had been flooded by imports of South Korean vehicles, the Yonhap news agency reported.
France last week formally asked the European Commission to begin monitoring car imports from South Korea in the first step towards a possible re-introduction of tariffs.
The request was made under the terms of an EU-South Korea free trade agreement which allows for safeguard measures to be implemented in response to a sudden spike in imports in certain "sensitive" sectors.
French officials say there was a 50 percent increase in South Korean auto imports in January and February.
However, a South Korean government official hit back on Wednesday.
"We analysed auto trade with the EU, and concluded that their claims are groundless," Yonhap quoted the unnamed official as saying.
"It is true that auto exports to France surged in the first two months of the year, but sales growth decelerated in the April-June period," he added.
South Korea's two biggest automakers have made significant inroads into the European market, with Hyundai sales up 12 percent last year and Kia deliveries up 11 percent.
France's auto industry is struggling in comparison. The country's biggest manufacturer, Peugeot, last month announced first-half losses of 819 million euros ($989 million) and is in the process of axing thousands of jobs.
burs-pdh/wai