Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Attends EAS Economic Ministers’ Consultations

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick (fourth from right, back row) travelled to Brunei, Indonesia on August 21 to attend the first RCEP•EAS Economic Ministers’ Consultations. Economic Ministers of Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United States, Russia and the ten ASEAN member countries attended the meeting. date2013-09-05

Korea, U.S. Speak On Trade

 Korea, U.S. Speak On Trade Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick met one-on-one with the U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on August 21 in Brunei, Indonesia. date2013-09-03

Korea, China and Japan Hold 2nd Round of FTA Negotiations

The second round of FTA negotiations among Korea, China and Japan was held on July 30 for four days in Shanghai, China. Assistant Minister for Trade Woo Taehee led the Korean delegation. The Chinese and Japanese delegations were headed by Vice Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Nagamine Yasumasa, respectively.   Based on the terms of reference adopted at the first round of talks, the discussion mainly focused on key issues related to the concession schedules and the scope of negotiations. The three parties held four working group meetings on the areas of trade in goods, trade in services, competition and legal provisions while hosting expert dialogues on the intellectual property rights and e-commerce sectors. For trade in goods, the three discussed modalities, the categorization of items and the exchange of statistical information.   For the next round of negotiations, the three parties agreed to hold expert dialogues on the fields of the environment, government procurement and food, during which they will decide whether to include such sectors in the negotiations.   Although negotiations are at an early stage, as the parties continue the process of deciding upon key issues and developing a framework for the talks, the three countries made significant progress in establishing an institutional framework for trilateral economic ties.   The third round of negotiations will be held in Japan in November or December.   * Released by the Bureau of East Asia FTA date2013-08-07

Vice Minister Greets Mongolian Ambassador

date2013-08-07

Vice Minister Speaks with Iranian Ambassador

Vice Minister Speaks with Iranian Ambassador Vice Minister for Trade and Energy Han Jinhyun met with Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Korea Ahmad Masoumifar on July 24 at the Gwacheon Government Complex. The discussion focused on trade and investment ties. date2013-08-05

Korea, Colombia to Advance Trade Ties

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and his Colombian counterpart Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Sergio Diaz-Granados held a meeting on July 8 in Seoul to accelerate the ratification process of the Korea-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which was signed last February. The two officials reaffirmed the need for ratification as the trade pact is expected to greatly contribute to enhancing economic ties, and they agreed to work together on implementing the deal at the ear date2013-07-12

Korea, China Hold 6th Round of FTA Negotiations

The 6th round of Korea-China FTA negotiations took place in Busan from July 2 to July 4 as both sides joined to push for the early completion of a high-level and comprehensive free trade agreement. Director General for FTA Negotiations Kim Young-moo led the Korean delegation, which consisted of officials from the relevant authorities including Ministry of Strategy and Finance; the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The Chinese delegation was headed by Deputy Director-General of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce, Sun Yuanjiang. The two nations reached or neared agreement on the “draft modality,” or basic framework for the talks, in the areas of services, investment, rules of origin, customs procedure, trade remedies and intellectual property rights. The delegations also came closer to agreement on most of the basic guidelines for the topic of trade in goods, including the level of liberalization. Additionally, the two sides agreed to broaden the scope of the talks to include competition, transparency, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT), E-commerce, the environment and economic cooperation. The two nations will continue to enhance mutual understanding on existing differences. The next round of negotiations is expected to be held in China, with the exact schedule to be determined after further consultations between the two parties. * Released by the Bureau of East Asia FTA date2013-07-11

Korea, UK Discuss Economic Cooperation

date2013-07-08

Korea, Indonesia Seek Greater Economic Ties

date2013-07-04

Korea, Israel Work Together to Foster Creative Economy

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy hosted the “Korea-Israel Innovation Forum for Creative Economy” on July 2 in Seoul. The forum served as an opportunity to introduce how Israel advanced its creative economy model through the commercialization of technology and to invigorate technology transfer between the two nations. In the presence of around 200 representatives from technology companies and research institutes, Yeda Research and Development, a technology transfer company e date2013-07-04