South Korea's National Assembly ratified a trade deal with India, so-called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), that would eliminate or reduce tariffs on over 4,400 South Korean export items.

The pact is slated to take effect on Jan. 1, 2010 if approved in both countries as scheduled.

South Korea and India wrapped up their three-and-a-half-year-long bilateral trade talks in early August, which called for tariff reduction in auto and other manufacturing sectors in both countries.

The CEPA binds South Korea to phase out or reduce tariffs on 90percent of Indian goods over 10 years, while India is to eliminate tariffs on 85 percent of South Korean exports within the same period.

The CEPA is different than the free trade agreements (FTA) in that it has a longer write-off period.

The pact is expected to boost bilateral trade by as much as 3.3billion U.S. dollars annually, with South Korea's trade to the market likely to grow 4 percent on year, the state-run Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) said.