Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea Trade Commission Gives Preliminary Confirmation of Dumping of Butyl Glycol Ether from the United States and France and Subsequent Injury to Domestic Industry

  The Korea Trade Commission, chaired by Hong Soon Jick, held its 353rd council on April 28, 2016 to discuss the anti-dumping investigation requested by Lotte Chemical Corporation (hereafter “the applicant”) on butyl glycol ether* from the United States and France. The commission gave a preliminary confirmation of dumping, determining that there was sufficient evidence to assume the presence of dumping and subsequent material injury to domestic industry. The commission will make its final determination after further investigation. * Butyl glycol ether refers to ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, organic compounds created by applying pressure and heat to butanol and ethylene oxide to cause a reaction and following with a distillation process. The applicant requested an anti-dumping investigation on November 18, 2015, alleging injuries to domestic industry, including decreased domestic sales and business loss, due to dumping of imported butyl glycol ether from the United States and France. The suppliers under investigation are the DOW Chemical Company and Eastman Chemical Company in the United States, and INEOS in France. The domestic market for butyl glycol ether stands at approximately KRW 37.5 billion (as of 2014), with imports from the US and France accounting for 65.7 percent. The Korea Trade Commission will conduct its investigation over the following three months and make its final determination of dumping rate, extent of injury to domestic industry, and amount of anti-dumping duties to be imposed.   date2016-04-28

Export and Import Trends for December 2015

  □ South Korea’s exports fell 13.8 percent to USD 42.6 billion and imports decreased 19.2 percent to USD 35.5 billion in December from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus, for the 47th consecutive month, of USD 7.2 billion.   : By product, shipment of major export items including those sensitive to oil price decreased, while exports of new items increased. Shipments of petrochemical and petro products; ships and semiconductors fell. Shipment of mobile telecommunication devices showed an increase as well as new competitive products such as Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) and cosmetics. By region, exports to most regions excluding Vietnam fell.   Imports of major raw materials, capital products, and consumer products decreased.   ○ Trade conditions for 2016: A gradual economic rebound and a recovery in world trade growth are expected. Both trends will be led by advanced nations. New FTAs that recently came into effect, such as the Korea-China and the Korea-Vietnam FTAs, will also have positive effects. - Slowing growth rate in China, sustainment of low oil prices, and the possibility of economic slowdowns in emerging countries following interest rate hikes in the US will most probably have negative results. ○ South Korea's exports in 2016 are predicted to rise by 2.1 percent to USD 538.2 billion. They will be influenced by a gradual recovery in both the world economy and global trade. Imports are forecasted to increase by 2.6 percent to USD 448.2 billion. Most of this will result from an increased demand for capital and consumer goods due to improving consumer confidence. The difference in increases in exports and imports will lead to a trade surplus estimated at USD 90.0 billion.   date2016-01-30

New MOTIE Minister Holds Meeting to Promote Exports

    New Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyunghwan hosted a meeting of agencies in charge of supporting the country's exports in Seoul yesterday.   During the meeting, Minister Joo explained the government's policies related to exports and stressed the need to find innovative ways to promote overseas shipments. date2016-01-21

MOTIE New 2nd Vice Minister Takes Office

MOTIE New 2nd Vice Minister Takes Office   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s new Second Vice Minister Woo Taehee has taken office, replacing his predecessor Moon Jae-do who served the ministry 34 years.   The new vice minister visited the country's biggest liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) charging station in Seoul yesterday as his first official outside activity after inauguration.   He also delivered a New Year message at an annual gathering of about 200 governmen date2016-01-19

Export and Import Trends for November 2015

      □ South Korea’s exports fell 4.7 percent to $44.4 billion and imports decreased 17.6 percent to $34.1 billion in November from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus, for the 46th consecutive month, of $10.4 billion.   By product, exports of most of the key items decreased, while those of mobile telecom devices increased. Exports of ships jumped sharply in November. By region, exports to most regions decreased, while those to Vietnam continued to increase. Exports to Europe turned positive.   : Imports of major raw materials and capital products decreased, while imports of consumer products remained on a rising trend.   ○ The recent downturn in the nation’s exports eased in November. Most of the change was attributable to a decrease in the number of exports from a year earlier, along with an increase in the delivery of offshore plants by the ship sector   ○ Imports of raw materials fell sharply due to lower prices. This resulted in a surplus in excess of USD 10 billion.   ○ Exports of items that are strongly affected by the price of oil decreased by USD 2.3 billion. Most of this was due to a further drop in the price of oil. Renovations to production and other facilities also played a part.   ○ The decline in exports of items that are strongly affected by the price of oil should moderate in December. Overall exports are expected to continue falling in November, however, due to continuing sluggish demand for such major items as semiconductors.   date2015-12-28

MOTIE Minister Yoon Meets with ECCK for Policy Recommendations

MOTIE Minister Yoon Meets with ECCK for Policy Recommendations   Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick held a meeting with representatives from the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) in Seoul last week.   During the meeting, Minister Yoon listened to various recommendations by participants on how to make Korea a better business hub for foreign investors and companies.   The minister also pledged to work with other relevant ministries and foreign companies date2015-12-14

Trade surplus for 2015 despite drops in both exports and imports

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 08 that both imports and exports dropped this year. Exports between January and November reached $ 484.6 billion, which is 7.6 percent lower than the same period of last year, while imports also dropped by 16.6 percent to $ 401.4 billion during the same period.     However, the balance of trade was in a surplus since the total amount of imports dropped more significantly due to material price reduction. The total trade surplus between January and November reached a record-breaking $ 83.2 billion.     Some of the main reasons for the drop in imports and exports include reduced raw material price, global trade slowdown and weak yen and euro. Other structural factors include slow Chinese economic growth and expansion of overseas production of major industries.     Korean companies now have the largest share of the Chinese import market by recording 10.5 percent (Jan~Aug) from 9.7 percent last year. Their share of the U.S. import market also increased from 3.0 percent to 3.3 percent (Jan~Aug), which is higher than those of Germany, Japan and other exporters.     Korea beat France in international exports by ranking 6th this year.     According to the WTO's announcement on export growth by major countries in the first half of this year, Korean exports rose by 5.6 percent, while Japan and EU recorded 3.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. It's more than twice the average growth rate, which is 2.3 percent.     The export share of SME's continues to grow. The export share of Korean SME's rose to 33.8 percent last year from 32.1 percent in 2012, and then to 35.7 percent between January and September this year.     Export items are also being diversified thanks to the development of new promising items. Until November this year, new promising items that showed growth included cosmetics (57.5 percent), OLED (26.4 percent) and SSD (31.0 percent).     * Short version date2015-12-08

MOTIE Deputy Trade Minister Woo Hosts 4th Special Private-Government Meeting on WTO EGA

      The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s Deputy Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee, hosted the fourth private-government meeting to discuss the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) of the World Trade Orgnization.   At the meeting, Deputy Minister Woo discussed the latest developments in the EGA negotiations and how South Korea should respond to its implementation, which is expected to take place from 2017. date2015-11-30

MOTIE Hosts CEO Forum for Foreign-Invested Companies 2015

MOTIE Hosts CEO Forum for Foreign-Invested Companies 2015   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) hosted the CEO Forum for Foreign-Invested Companies 2015 in Seoul this week, which marked its 10th anniversary this year.   During the forum, Deputy Minister for Internatinal Trade and Investment Lee Inho pledged all support to foreign-invested companies to develop their businesses in South Korea. date2015-11-27

Export and Import Trends for October 2015

      □ South Korea’s exports fell 15.8 percent to $43.5 billion and imports decreased 16.6 percent to $36.8 billion in September from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus, for the 45 consecutive month, of $6.7 billion.   □ By product, exports of most key items decreased, while those of mobile telecom devices increased. Exports of ships dropped due to a lull in exports of offshore plants this month, and those of semiconductors fell due to sluggish growth in the memory sector. By region, exports to most regions decreased, while those to Vietnam continued to increase.   □ Imports ofmajor raw materials continued to decrease, but imports of capital and consumer products maintained upward trends.   □ ○ The nation’s exports showed their biggest decline this year in October due to a sharp fall in overseas shipments, the price drop for oil-related products, and a high comparison basis from the same month last year when they posted a record amount.   ○ Notably, the total volume of exports fell for the first time in five months in October as more factories manufacturing petrochemical and oil-related products underwent routine repairs.   ○ In November, the decline in exports is expected to ease to a certain degree as ship deliveries rise with scheduled exports of offshore plants and shipments of oil-related products decrease less relative to lower oil prices from October of last year.   ○The Korean government plans to continue improving its current export structure concentrated on intermediary goods by diversifying export markets with a focus on countries that have been released from economic sanctions, including Iran. The government will also help develop more consumer products such as cosmetics and medical supplies as key export items.   date2015-11-20