Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Ahn attends Korea-Philippines Business Forum

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea and Philippine’s Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go attended the Korea-Philippines Business Forum today in Seoul with the participation of 150 business leaders and government officials of both countries. In his congratulatory address, the minister assessed how the two countries have established a basis for wider economic cooperation with their bilateral relations elevated to a strategic partnership on the occasion of the last Korea-Philippines summit. He added that going forward, the Korean government plans to leverage economic cooperation platforms in making intergovernmental efforts to promote smooth business collaboration between the two countries. date2025-04-07

Minister meets Philippine's Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea held high-level talks with the Philippine government delegation led by Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go today in Seoul and discussed measures for stronger economic cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, supply chains, and carbon-free energy. date2025-04-07

Korea and Philippines to boost trade, investment, and supply chain cooperation

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea held high-level talks with the Philippine government delegation led by Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go today in Seoul and discussed measures for stronger economic cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, supply chains, and carbon-free energy. Noting the Philippines’ abundant natural resources and young demographic profile, Minister Ahn expressed appreciation towards the Philippine government’s efforts to create a choice investment environment, including the five percent corporate tax cut (from previous 25 percent to 20 percent) for investment companies. Special Assistant Frederick Go responded by stating that Korea is the Philippines’ major trade and investment partner and conveyed anticipation for the two countries to gain meaningful outcomes through the Korea-Philippines Business Forum, with Korea being the Philippines’ first stop of its investment roadshows. Both sides agreed that the two countries should expand cooperation in areas like critical minerals and clean energy amid the rapidly changing global trade environment. Accordingly, they decided to take active steps to implement the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the feasibility study for resuming construction of the Baatan nuclear power plant as well as the MOU for bilateral cooperation on their critical raw materials supply chain. Following the talks, Minister Ahn attended the Korea-Philippines Business Forum hosted by the Philippine government and organized by the Philippine Embassy in Korea. In his congratulatory address, the minister assessed how the two countries have established a basis for wider economic cooperation with their bilateral relations elevated to a strategic partnership on the occasion of the last Korea-Philippines summit. He added that going forward, the Korean government plans to leverage economic cooperation platforms in making intergovernmental efforts to promote smooth business collaboration between the two countries.   date2025-04-07

Korea-India Insight Forum for shared growth co-hosted by MOTIE and Indian Embassy to Korea

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Indian Embassy to Korea co-hosted the Korea-India Insight Forum at the Residence of the Indian Ambassador to Korea on Friday, April 4, to have in-depth discussions on strategic cooperation between the two countries across the economic and trade sectors.  This Forum was joined by the two governments and private experts, and prepared to devise cooperation directions between the two countries amid the deepening structural shift of international trade orders, such as global supply chains restructuring, technology competition, exports of over-capacities and tariff escalations. Participants agreed on the significance of relations between Korea and India as Special Strategic Partners, and emphasized the need for practical cooperation centered around new industries including development cooperation, digital transformations, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, clean energy, human resource mobility as well as mutual trade and investment.  Director General of the Bureau of International Trade Relations Jongchul Kim  mentioned that although the outcomes of cooperation between the two countries have been limited compared to the potential, this year will be an opportunity to reshape the existing cooperative framework and pursue substantial cooperation. Concurring with DG Kim, India’s Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar suggested intensifying bilateral engagement to seize emerging opportunities and establishing sustainable partnerships across multiple sectors based on respective economic structures, growth potential and mutual strategic benefits. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Special Strategic Partnership, the Korean and Indian governments will enhance policy communication and cooperation across a wide range of sectors going forward.   date2025-04-04

Korea and Japan hold trade and industry ministers’ meeting

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea held a bilateral meeting with Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Muto Yoji on March 30 in Seoul in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the two countries’ normalization of diplomatic relations and on the margins of the 13th Korea-Japan-China Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting. A first in nine months since the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral convened in June 2024 in Washington D.C., the Korea-Japan trade and industry ministers’ meeting reciprocates the previous bilateral talks that took place in April 2024 in Tokyo. During the meeting, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of Korea and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan highly appraised the two countries’ active intergovernmental and private-sector dialogue in supply chains, advanced industries, and new energy areas like hydrogen, and agreed to further cooperation to gain tangible outcomes in view of this year marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations. The two sides shared views and response measures with regard to the rapidly changing global trade landscape, agreeing to leverage both bilateral and multilateral (Korea-U.S.-Japan, Korea-Japan-China) platforms to share information and seek measures on issues requiring joint response.  Both sides will also be making joint effort towards Korea and Japan’s successful hosting of upcoming major international events including the Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025 (April–October 2025) and the opening ceremony of the Korea Pavilion (April 13, Osaka) and Korea Day (May 13, Osaka), as well as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministerial (Jeju Island) and Energy Ministerial (Busan) meetings and the APEC CEO Summit.   date2025-03-31

Korea and China hold commerce ministerial talks on trade and economic cooperation

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea met China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao on March 29 in Seoul on the occasion of the 13th Korea-Japan-China Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting (March 30, Seoul) to discuss measures for bilateral cooperation and trade issues in view of the changing global trade landscape. The bilateral meeting is a first since the last commerce ministerial talks held between the two countries in November 2023 in San Francisco.  The two sides exchanged views on the global trade environment and agreed to continue their mutually beneficial cooperation through not only bilateral trade platforms, but also multilateral trade systems such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The two countries will also be making joint efforts toward their successful hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) in 2025 (Korea) and 2026 (China). Moreover, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of Korea and the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM) plan to expand the scope of collaboration for the stabilization of the critical minerals supply chain and maintain communication and cooperation to resolve issues for businesses in each other’s markets.  Furthermore, the two sides will continue to share supply chain measures and policies through bilateral director general-level channels like the supply chain hotline and export control dialogue, while also bolstering cooperation between MOTIE and other major local governments in China, including those in regions such as Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shandong, and Liaoning.   date2025-03-31

Korea and Australia discuss trade cooperation

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea held a videoconference meeting with Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell today, during which they exchanged views on the global trade environment and agreed to closely cooperate on securing supply chain stability. Noting the continually expanding scope of Korea-Australia trade and investment based on their mutually complementary trade structures, Minister Ahn proposed that the two countries advance their existing cooperative ties in energy and resources toward forward-looking areas such as supply chains, clean economy, and digital. Moreover, Minister Ahn requested the Australian government’s interest and support in facilitating the critical minerals and other local projects invested in by Korean businesses. He also called for the active participation and cooperation of Australian authorities and companies for Korea’s successful hosting of APEC 2025 as this year’s APEC chair. date2025-03-11

Korea and EU launch 12th FTA Trade Committee meeting

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič co-chaired the 12th Korea-EU FTA Trade Committee (“Committee”) meeting on March 10 in Brussels, Belgium, with the participation of both sides’ delegations including the European Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Trade Maria Martin-Prat. At the meeting, the two sides discussed various issues including sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, electric vehicle (EV) subsidies, market access, and trade and sustainable development (TSD). The Korean delegation requested the EU’s swift implementation of import approval procedures for Korean fresh beef and a review of France’s EV subsidy policy, in addition to market access issues concerning the EU’s battery regulation, steel safeguard, fluorinated greenhouse gas (F-gas) regulation, and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Agreeing on the need for discussions regarding supply chains and such new trade issues, they decided to launch the Committee on Emerging Trade and Economic Issues within the Korea-EU FTA. Moreover, the Committee meeting served as an occasion for confirming the conclusion of the Korea-EU Digital Trade Agreement (DTA), which will undergo legal scrubbing and other domestic procedures going forward.   date2025-03-11

ASEAN-ROK Think Tank Dialogue (AKTD) officially launched as platform to strengthen Korea-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy delegation (led by Jong-chul Kim, Director-General for Trade Cooperation) visited Jakarta, Indonesia from March 6 to March 7 to attend the kickoff meeting of the ASEAN-ROK Think Tank Dialogue on Economic and Trade Policy (AKTD) and the opening ceremony of the Korea-Southeast Asia Policy Cooperation Center, aimed at strengthening multilateral economic policy cooperation with ASEAN. Additionally, the delegation visited the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of Indonesia to discuss cooperation measures on major trade issues such as global supply surpluses and to review key bilateral economic cooperation issues. On March 7, the AKTD kickoff meeting was held at Hotel Mulia in Jakarta. AKTD is a public-private cooperation-based economic policy research project jointly led by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET) and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The initiative was officially proposed by Korea at the 25th ASEAN-ROK Summit held in Laos in October 2024. Think tanks from Korea and ASEAN will collaborate on economic and trade research to enhance ASEAN’s policy-making and economic development. Participants discussed research topics, methodologies, and the implementation schedule. ASEAN think tanks acknowledged that Korea’s industrial policy experience, combined with ASEAN’s growth potential, could create synergies through AKTD. In his congratulatory remarks, Director-General Kim emphasized, "I hope that AKTD will establish itself as a leading policy platform for Korea-ASEAN economic cooperation and serve as a means to contribute to ASEAN’s balanced economic development through substantive activities." Earlier that day, the opening ceremony of the Korea-Southeast Asia Policy Cooperation Center took place. Established by KIET, the center will conduct ASEAN-focused policy research and support local business expansion. It will also serve as a venue for public-private-academic policy dialogues involving local Korean businesses, ASEAN governments, and research institutions. Through this initiative, the center aims to incorporate the real needs of Korean businesses into ASEAN’s industrial policies and foster closer economic policy cooperation with ASEAN. Furthermore, the MOTIE delegation met with Irwan Sinaga, Director-General for Bilateral Cooperation at Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, to hold in-depth discussions on cooperation in a wide range of areas, including trade and investment, supply chains, and high-tech industries. Notably, the two sides agreed to convene the Korea-Indonesia Economic Cooperation Committee as soon as possible, a high-level economic cooperation channel between MOTIE and the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, to comprehensively review bilateral economic cooperation issues—including challenges faced by businesses—and seek practical support measures. MOTIE will continue to support ASEAN-related economic policy cooperation activities led by private research institutions and think tanks, such as AKTD and the Korea-Southeast Asia Policy Cooperation Center. At the same time, MOTIE plans to further expand bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation with ASEAN—a key region in the Global South—by maintaining close government-to-government communication with Indonesia and other key partner countries. date2025-03-07

Korea’s average tariff rate on U.S. imports is close to 0%

After U.S. President Donald Trump stated in his address to a joint session of Congress on March 4 (local time) that Korea’s average tariff rate is four times higher than that of the U.S., multiple media outlets reported on the comment. Under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), which entered into force in 2012, both Korea and the U.S. have eliminated tariffs on most goods. As of 2024, Korea’s effective tariff rate for goods imported from the U.S. is approximately 0.79%. While Korea’s most-favored nation (MFN) applied tariff rate is 13.4% (approximately four times higher than the U.S. rate of 3.3%), this MFN rate differs from the KORUS preferential tariff rates that Korea applies to U.S. imports. MFN tariff rates apply to imports from members of the WTO (World Trade Organization) that do not have preferential trade agreements with Korea. date2025-03-05