SEOUL, March 23 (Reuters) - South Korea and the European Union began on Monday the final round of talks on a trade deal that they hope will send a strong message to their global trading partners to reject protectionism. Hoping to boost their $100 billion two-way trade, South Korea and the EU launched the talks in 2007 shortly after Seoul struck a free trade deal with Washington, which has yet to be ratified by either country's legislature.
Conclusion of the deal would send a "very clear and forceful message to the international community" that the two sides are taking "a lead in the fight against protectionism," South Korea's chief negotiator Lee Hye-min said at the start of the talks.
Negotiators will tackle remaining differences on eliminating tariffs on industrial goods and farm products and try to resolve a sticking point on cutting import duty on South Korean cars being shipped to Europe.
"We've been negotiating for two years now and we've reached agreement on most of the points of contention," South Korean Minister for Trade Kim Jong-hoon told the KTV television network on Monday, adding that the talks would likely conclude this week.
The European Union is South Korea's second-largest export market after China, and South Korea is the EU's fourth largest non-European trade partner.
For the European Union, the deal with South Korea would be its first such pact with an Asian country.
The pact would need the approval of the South Korean assembly and the European Parliament but not of the European Union's 27 individual member states. (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)