Whisky, Drugs and Bonds—Korea, 1987–1997

Abstract

The advent of democracy in Korea went hand in hand with growing frustration in Europe over its trade policies, which included bans on some imports, restrictive quotas, licensing requirements and punitive import duties. British concerns centred on intellectual property rights, barriers to whisky imports, and lack of access to the financial market. Resolving the problems took more than a decade but after the USA had negotiated its own bilateral agreement with Korea, the UK realised that the only way of achieving an acceptable agreement would be by working with European partners. Partners were initially lukewarm, reluctant to give up national competence for certain matters, the UK included. But the British government was quicker than most others to realise the implications of the Maastricht Treaty for co-operation, and the opportunities the new single market would bring for inward investment. It used this to good effect to achieve objectives in its trade relations with Korea that would have been far more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve bilaterally.