Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

MOTIE Minister Yoon Greets U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel

    Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick greeted a visit by U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel at his satellite office in Seoul last week.   During the meeting, they exchanged views on the implementation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and other trade issues such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). date2015-08-24

Delegation to be dispatched to Iran to boost economic cooperation after sanctions are lifted

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on August 24 that it sent a delegation to Iran for which sanctions were recently lifted to restore cooperative relationship in industrial and energy areas and discuss some of the issues to boost cooperation.     Led by the Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy and composed of representatives from the Korea National Corporation, Korea Gas Company, Korea Resources Corporation, National Research Foundation of Korea, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.     The Korean delegation will have a meeting with the president of ITPO, Iran and the president of National Iranian Oil Company to discuss matters of cooperation in economy and energy, as well as issues that are often faced by Korean companies wishing to do business in Iran.     They will also hold meetings with high ranking officials of National Iranian Oil Company to discuss the possibilities of Korean companies in the development of oil and gas fields based on their years of experience in the area.     * Short version date2015-08-24

ROK and Ecuador to Start FTA Talks

      The Republic of Korea (ROK) and Ecuador plan to announce the start of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement in Seoul next week.   The ROK's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick will make the announcement during a meeting with Minister of Production Nathalie Cely and Minister of Foreign Trade Diego Aulestia from the South American country.   The Korean government plans to pursue a comprehensive and high-level FTA with Ecuador, the ROK's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said in a statement.   If concluded, this would be Ecuador's first FTA with an Asian country, according to the statement. date2015-08-20

ROK and Iran to Resume Ministerial Meeting for Economic Cooperation

      The Republic of Korea (ROK) and Iran plan to resume their ministerial meeting for economic cooperation for the first time in eight years.   The plan is part of the ROK's efforts to help promote the country's exports amid unfavorable external conditions such as falling oil prices and slowing global growth.   The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) will also set up an office to support local exporters to tap into the Iranian market.   The ROK government will step up efforts to promote the country's exports to other overseas markets such as Cuba, Russia, China, the Middle East and South and Central America. date2015-08-13

ROK, China, Japan to Hold 8th Round of FTA Negotiations

  □ The Republic of Korea (ROK) will hold the eighth round of working-level negotiations for a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China and Japan from July 20 to 24, 2015, in Beijing, China.   ○The three countries will send their delegations, led respectively by Yoo Myung-hee, director-general of FTA negotiations at the ROK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Hong Xiao Dong, deputy director-general of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs at China’s Commerce Ministry, and Tatsuo Sato, deputy director-general of the Economic Affairs Bureau at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.   * The trilateral FTA negotiations have been divided into working-level and chief negotiators’ talks, which take place separately, since the sixth round.   □ The ROK, China and Japan have held seven rounds of the trilateral talks under the principle of pursuing a "comprehensive and high-level FTA" since they declared the launch of the negotiations in November 2012.   ○They have addressed a wide range of issues including not only products, services, and investments, but also customs, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT), competition, intellectual property rights, e-commerce, environment, general principles, and cooperation.   □ The eighth round of talks will focus on key issues such as guidelines for negotiations on product concessions and the method for liberalizing services trade and investments, while more than 20 task forces or expert dialogues responsible for rules, areas of cooperation, and other issues will hold meetings to work out the details of the agreement and to exchange ideas on the key elements.   ○The eighth round of chief negotiators' talks is scheduled for September in China, based on the outcomes of the working-level meetings.   date2015-08-05

ROK Holds Preparatory Meeting for FTA with Six Central American Nations

      The Republic of Korea (ROK) held a preparatory meeting with six Central American countries in San Salvador, El Salvador, this week before starting negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA).   In the meeting, the ROK and the six nations decided on the principle that they would seek to conclude a high-level and comprehensive FTA and also agreed on detailed rules regarding the negotiations.   The first round of the FTA talks is scheduled to take place from Sept. 21 to 25, and subsequent rounds will be held every two months, the ROK's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said in a statement.   The six Central American countries are Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. date2015-07-31

MOTIE Minister Yoon Attends Forum on Eurasia-Korea Future

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended New-Eurasia Forum Seoul 2015 in Seoul yesterday, which discussed the future of Eurasia and the Republic of Korea (ROK).   About 500 political and business leaders from home and abroad attended the forum, including Chinese Ambassador to the ROK Qiu Guohong and Russian Trade Representative to the ROK Mikhail Bondarenko. date2015-07-14

MOTIE Minister Yoon Meets with Pakistan's Commerce Minister and Australia's Ambassador

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick greeted a visit by Pakistan's Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan at his satellite office in Seoul last week.   During the meeting, the two ministers discussed various bilateral issues such as initiating a private joint study on a possible free trade agreement (FTA) between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Pakistan.   Earlier in the week, Minister Yoon also met with Australia's ambassador to the ROK to exchange views on ways to promote bilateral economic cooperation with the implementation of the FTA between their countries. date2015-07-13

ROK and Tanzania to Strengthen Business Cooperation

      The Republic of Korea (ROK) and Tanzania are seeking ways to promote business cooperation as part of their efforts to develop a win-win economic partnership between the two countries.   Lee Sang-jin, director-general of the Economic Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the ROK, stressed the importance of such a partnership at the ROK-Tanzania Business Forum 2015 held in Dodoma earlier this week.   About 300 business representatives from both countries attended this year's forum, which discussed various opportunities for Korean companies to tap into Tanzania's infrastructure projects and economic and industrial investment. date2015-06-30

Korea and Japan hold talks over import regulations on Japanese fisheries products

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on June 26 that Korea and Japan held talks over Japanese fisheries products between June 24 and 25 at the WTO office in Geneva Switzerland, but only ended up checking the differences in views on the issue.     At the meeting, Japan repeatedly requested that Korea should immediately lift the ban because the action contradicts the transparency and scientific basis as required by the WTO SPS agreement.     In return, t date2015-06-26