The foreign affairs and trade committee of South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday passed the nation's free trade deal with the European Union in a vote after rival parties agreed to tax cuts for small livestock farms.

The parliamentary committee approved the ratification bill for the long-stalled free trade agreement with the EU by a vote of 17 to 2 in a plenary session after hearing protective measures from the government. Six lawmakers cast blank ballots.

The Korea-EU FTA bill, if approved in the Assembly's plenary vote slated for Friday, will take effect in July, committee officials said.

The European Parliament already approved the deal in February. (Yonhap News)