Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

In-depth discussions to be held with ASEAN nations on trade liberalization and cooperation measures

Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy Yoon Sang-jick will be participating in the Fourth Economic Ministers Meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (KOR-ASEAN․ASEAN+3, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and East Asia Summit (EAS), which will be held in Nay Phy Taw, Myanmar for two days starting on August 26. The KOR–ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting will provide a venue for in-depth discussions of measures for the additional liberalization and the date2014-08-28

Results of the 8th round of the Korea-New Zealand FTA negotiation

date2014-08-11

Framework for Korea-China FTA Service and Investment Negotiations Built at the 12th Korea-China FTA

The 12th Korea-China FTA negotiation took place at EXCO, Daegu, over a five-day period from July 14, 2014 (Mon) through July 18, 2014 (Fri). Chief FTA Negotiator Woo Taehee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, led the Korean delegation team, which consisted of members of related government agencies. The Chinese delegation team, which consisted of members of related government agencies, was led by Shouwen Wang, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce. During this negotiation, the two countries discussed all areas of the FTA, including goods, services and investments, Rules and areas of cooperation. In relation to goods, the two parties exchanged views on and focused on narrowing the gap on the terms of early tariff exemption on China’s manufacturing sector and on agricultural and fisheries goods, a sensitive issue for Korea. The two countries reached an agreement on the approach to market opening, which has been the biggest issue in the services and investment area. In relation to the services sector, Korea has long supported the idea of a negative approach (listing the areas not opened), while China has supported positive approach(listing the areas to be opened). In relation to investment, Korea had supported reflecting the investment liberalization factors, while China had supported including only investment protection factors. This negotiation achieved fruitful results in terms of Rules and Economic cooperation. The two countries reached a full agreement on the chapter regarding competition and e-commerce, and made the substantial achievement on the environment chapter. There were meaningful improvements in customs procedures, economic cooperation and government procurement. The two countries agreed that the 13th negotiations would be held in China in September 2014, at a date and venue to be determined. Head Kim Young-moo (044-203-5780), Director Cho Soojung (02-734-1863), East Asia FTA Bureau date2014-07-21

5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Negotiations Completed

This round of negotiations was participated in by a total of 600 delegation members from 16 member countries. The Korean delegation, headed by Director-General for FTA Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy Kim Young-moo, included officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. ※ 10 ASEAN countries + 6 AFPs (ASEAN FTA Partners, : Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India) During this 5th round of negotiations, discussions were held on Trade in Goods, Services, Investment, Competition, Intellectual Property Rights, Economic Cooperation and the Legal/Institutional Issues, with the aim of achieving visible outcomes for the 2nd RCEP Ministerial meeting to be held in Myanmar in August 2014. Discussions were also held on whether SMEs(Small and Medium Enterprises) , e-commerce, global value chain and government procurement will be included in the scope of negotiations. The Korean delegation actively involved in negotiations by releasing a paper on the Key elements to be explored in the Dispute Settlement Chapter, and submitting the joint non-paper on Government Procurement and SMEs with New Zealand as well. The next round of negotiations (the 6th round of RCEP negotiations) will be held in India in December 2014. date2014-07-02

Meeting with Ecuadorean Foreign Relations Minister

Meeting with Ecuadorean Foreign Relations Minister Second Vice Minister Han Jin-hyun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy met with Ecuadorean Foreign Relations Minister Ricardo Patiño, who visited Korea to attend the 2014 High-Level Forum on Korea-Latin American Partnership in the meeting room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building in Gwanghwamun, Seoul at 14:00, July 1 (Tuesday), 2014. Two leaders exchanged views about the trade agreement between the two countries, orders date2014-07-01

In the FTA era, the world is gathering to discuss trade remedies

Trade Survey Department Director of the Korea Trade Commission Park Jin-kyu gave a presentation introducing the function, role, and survey status of the Korea Trade Commission. He emphasized the fact that the FTAs signed by Korea have reflected more reinforced trade remedy provisions*(WTO Plus), in comparison with WTO agreements, for the purpose of establishing a fair and transparent trade remedy system, and accumulating and sharing best practices will greatly contribute to the global improvement of the relevant system. In the evening, the Commission held a Business Dialogue event in which local exporting companies could meet the representatives of overseas tr date2014-06-20

Korea and China Exchanged 2nd Offer of Goods and Made Progress in Regulations

The 11th round of Korea-China FTA negotiations was held in China (Meishan, Sichuan) for five days from May 26 to May 30, 2014. The Korean delegation was led by Woo Tae-hee, Assistant Minister for Trade & Chief Negotiator for FTAs of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, while the Chinese delegation was led by Wang Shouwen, Assistant Minister of Commerce. During this negotiation, the two parties discussed all of the areas to be covered by the FTA, including offers of goods, services and investments and regulations and cooperation. The two parties exchanged a 2nd offer which was improved from the 1st offer exchanged in December 2013 for the category of goods, and also exchanged the 2nd request for items of key interest to each party. The two parties made meaningful progress in terms of agreement on text of trade in goods, trade remedy, regulations and areas of cooperation. As well, the parties engaged in in-depth discussions on the approach to opening the services and investment sectors, and significantly, exchanged requests and opinions about areas of mutual interest in relation to the services sector for the first time. The negotiations also saw significant progress in areas such as rules of origin, customs procedures and environment, and it was agreed that efforts to reach an agreement on the remaining issues would be accelerated. The two parties also engaged in in-depth discussions on ways to reinforce bilateral cooperation in industry, agriculture, fishery, forestry and government procurement. The 12th round of negotiations will be held in Korea in July, at a date and location to be determined. date2014-06-09

Korea and China Move Closer to FTA

date2014-05-23

Fifth Round of Korea-Vietnam FTA Negotiations to be Held

The Korean delegation will be led by Director General for FTA Policy from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Kim Hak-do, and will include representatives from relevant Ministries, including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. For Vietnam, Director General for Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), Ministry of Industry and Trade, Bui Huy Son (former Director for Asia-Pacific Market) will lead the delegation. During this fifth round meeting, the two government delegations will have in-depth discussions regarding goods, services, and investment, country of origin, customs and cooperation. Last year, government leaders from both countries had agreed to sign a comprehensive, wide-ranging FTA before the end of 2014. Vietnam is an important trade and investment partner to Korea, as well as an economic cooperation partner among ASEAN countries. With the signing of a Korea-Vietnam FTA, more meaningful free trade and investment will be feasible compared to under the existing Korea-ASEAN FTA, thus reinforcing the bilateral economic and trade relationship. * As of 2013, Vietnam is Korea’s 9th largest trading partner and its 4th largest target of investment. (Korea’s 2nd largest trade partner and biggest target for investment in ASEAN) date2014-05-22

The Results of the Korea-New Zealand FTA Intersessional Meeting

Both parties exchanged their opinions through in the sections such as goods, investment, rule of origin, cooperation, and general provisions. The goods did not see much progress in the negotiation as the two countries failed to narrow the gaps of the degrees of protecting agricultural goods and maintaining balanced interests between both countries, while other areas including rule of origin and general provisions were progressed to a certain degree. The parties plan to have the next round of negotiation in New Zealand in early June in order to discuss the major issues. In the next round, the Korean government will endeavor to achieve balanced interests between Korea and New Zealand. date2014-05-09