Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Ahn meets Japan's METI Minister

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn visited Tokyo on April 22 and met with Saitō Ken, Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, to discuss follow-up measures to bilateral summit agenda items in industry, trade, and energy, as well as forward-looking cooperation. date2024-04-23

Korea and Canada hold 4th FTA Joint Committee meeting

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the 4th Korea-Canada Free Trade agreement (FTA) Joint Committee meeting on April 22 with Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng to discuss measures for facilitating investment and trade issues. date2024-04-23

Trade Minister meets Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, Int'l Trade & Economic Development

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng on April 22 at the Lotte Hotel Seoul to discuss stronger bilateral trade and economic cooperation. date2024-04-23

Korea and Canada discuss measures for stronger trade and economic cooperation

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng, Head of the Canadian business delegation, on April 22 in Seoul and held trade ministerial talks.   During the bilateral talks, Trade Minister Cheong suggested that Korea and Canda bolster their cooperation in natural gas, critical minerals, and batteries, while expanding the scope of cooperation to areas like clean energy and small modular reactors (SMRs). He also requested the Canadian government’s interest and cooperation in facilitating Korean firms’ local investment and supply chain endeavors.   The trade chief also met with Goldy Hyder, President of the Business Council of Canada, on the margins of the business delegation’s visit to Korea and discussed private sector efforts in translating government efforts into concrete joint projects.   Canada’s business delegation visit to Korea is the largest bilateral economic cooperation event following the upgrade of their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022, held with participation of more than 170 Canadian firms and institutions for stronger networking and uncovering new joint projects between the two countries’ companies.   Moreover, under the shared understanding that trade and investment cooperation is key, the two sides held the fourth Korea-Canada Free Trade agreement (FTA) Joint Committee meeting on a ministerial level, which is a first. date2024-04-23

Korea and Georgia hold intersessional negotiations for bilateral EPA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 15 that the Korean and Georgian delegations are meeting through April 15-17 in Seoul to engage in intersessional negotiations for the two countries’ bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).   Korea’s Director General for FTA Negotiations Peob-min Ryu and Georgia’s Economy and Sustainable Development Deputy Minister Genadi Arveladze are heading their respective delegations.   The intersessional negotiations follow the first official negotiating round convened this February in Georgia, where the two sides held extensive discussions and reached consensus across a number of areas.   During this intersessional meeting, the Korean delegation will be concentrating on discussing the details in areas like goods, services, digital, and cooperation. date2024-04-15

IPEF Supply Chain Agreement to take effect April 17 in Korea

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 12 that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement will come into effect on April 17 in Korea.   Korea submitted its ratification documents on March 18, 2024, and the Agreement will enter into force after a 30-day period, on Wednesday, April 17. For the U.S., Japan, Singapore, Fiji, and India, the Supply Chain Agreement has taken effect as of February 24 this year; Korea will be the sixth country to ratify the said agreement.   As the first multilateral international agreement on supply chains, the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement is anticipated to contribute to establishing a more stable intraregional supply chain. During times of non-crisis, the 14 partner countries will cooperate to increase investment, enhance logistics, and push joint R&D projects for building supply chain resiliency. During crises, partner countries will be running a “Crisis Response Network” by which they can carry out joint response measures. date2024-04-12

Korea and Chile launch 9th official negotiating round for upgrading bilateral FTA

Director General for FTA Policy Ahn Chang-yong is heading the Korean delegation in the ninth official negotiating round for upgrading the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) from April 2-4 in Chile, Santiago. Pablo Urria, Acting Director for Bilateral Economic Affairs at Chile's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is leading the Chilean delegation.   Having come into effect on April 1, 2004, the FTA with Chile is Korea’s first FTA and has increased bilateral trade five-fold, bolstering the economic cooperative relations.   The two sides commenced the FTA upgrade negotiations in 2018 with aim to deepen bilateral trade, investment, and cooperative relations, as well as to incorporate modernized trade rules into the Agreement with respect to supply chains, energy, raw materials, digital economy, intellectual property rights, and environment.   With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the Korea-Chile FTA’s entry into force, both sides’ trade authorities agreed to work on making tangible progress through this ninth official negotiating round. date2024-04-03

Korea and Thailand declare negotiation launch for bilateral EPA

Deputy Minister for FTA Negotiations Roh Keon-ki met Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Phumtham Wechayachai on March 28 in Bangkok to declare the launch of negotiations for the Korea-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). date2024-03-29

Trade Minister meets Cambodia’s Acting Minister of Commerce

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Cambodia’s Acting Minister of Commerce and Secretary of State Kem Sithan on March 27 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to discuss measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, development, and carbon neutrality. date2024-03-29

Boao Forum for Asia 2024 hosts discussions for Asian countries' intraregional cooperation

Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae attended the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2024 held in Boao, China's Hainan Province, through March 26-29 under the theme of "Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibilities.”   Launched in 2001, BFA is a venue where Asia’s key figures in governments, corporations, and academia gather to discuss measures for economic development. This year’s conference was attended by the representatives of 29 Asian countries.   In the panel session on “Asia: Building an Epicentrum of Growth,” Deputy Minister Yang discussed measures for enhancing intraregional economic cooperation with other experts, presenting the following three key tasks for Asia to identify new opportunities for growth amid recent global trade uncertainties and exercise global leadership: enhancing the quality of intraregional economic cooperation; proposing a vision for global agendas like climate change response and digital economy; and heightening the utilization of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that entered into force in 2022.   He further emphasized Korea’s plan to utilize the intraregional cooperation platform like RCEP and ASEAN-Plus Three (APT) for facilitating trade and investment, stabilizing the supply chain, and diffusing new trade norms, including green and digital. date2024-03-28