Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea-Israel To Expand Technological Cooperation for the Development of Creative Economy

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will convene the Korea-Israel public-private technology cooperation meeting in July 2014 with the aim of developing a model for creative economic development through technological cooperation with Israel. Leaders of major enterprises and the government of Israel will be invited to the Korea-Israel Industrial Technological Cooperation Conference (Seoul, July 14 to 16, 2014) and meetings among associations and one-to-one corporate consulting sessions will be held with the goal of expanding the scope of Korea-Israel cooperation, which had previously been focused on government-level joint technology development in overall industry. By holding the event together with the Korea-Israel Innovation Day event proposed by Israel at the 5th Joint Economic Committee Meeting (April 7, 2014), the efforts of the two countries for innovation and future cooperation measures will be highlighted, and Korea-Israel cooperation in industrial technology will be taken to a higher level. ※ Innovation Day: The Ministerial-level bilateral event aims to review the results of joint research and cooperation for the creative economy of two countries, and to discuss future cooperation measures in related areas. Israel is the world’s No. 2 unmanned aerial vehicle technology leader following the US, and Korea is working on direct and indirect technological cooperation with IAI and Elbit System in Israel, the world’s most prestigious unmanned aerial vehicle developers. Along with Sweden and Finland, Israel has been highly recognized as having one of the world’s best cyber threat response systems, with Israeli companies Check Point and Cyber Software securing world-leading market shares in the integrated crisis management, firewall and information leakage prevention sectors. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will dispatch a delegation with about 30 members from the public and private sectors, including Park Hee-jae, Head of the Strategy & Planning Division of the Ministry, technological experts and members of the industry to MIXiii (the innovation conference of Israel) to be held in late May, 2014, and will hold discussions with the Israeli government and figures in the industry on details about the selection of Israeli partners and technologies for cooperation. The Ministry has operated the Korea-Israel Joint R&D Project jointly with Israel’s Ministry of the Economy, and has utilized Israel’s source technologies and the application and manufacturing technologies of Korean SMEs. Since the two countries signed an agreement in 1999, the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation was established in 2001, and both countries have contributed USD 2 million per year to finance joint R&D activities between the two countries (accumulated contributions of USD 37 million). A total of 132 initiatives have been supported (a total amount of support of USD 34 million), and visible results have been produced including revenues (a total of USD 25 million) through 25 out of 53 initiatives completed. Officer Cha Dong-hyeong of Industry & Technology Policy Division of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “Israel is our great benchmarking model, as it has set an example by develo date2014-04-18

Korea and China to Reach an Agreement through Working-Level Discussions

The Korea-China FTA Inter-Sessional Meeting will be held in Beijing, China, on April 15 and 16, 2014. On the Korean side, Kim Yeong-mu, who is Head of the East Asia FTA Negotiation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will lead the delegation, which will include members from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The Chinese delegation will be led by Sun Wien Zhang, who is Vice President of the International Economy & Trade Relations Division under the Ministry of Commerce. ※ While the FTA delegations for Korea and China are led by Assistant Ministers, the delegations attending this inter-sessional meeting are small in scale and are led by substitute officials. It is expected that this inter-sessional meeting will be a chance to mediate both parties’ positions on key issues, through in-depth discussions on goods, services and investments. The 11th official Korea-China FTA negotiation meeting will be held in China during May of 2014. date2014-04-15

Korea’s 2014 ICT product exports exceed USD 40Billion

Last March, Korea’s ICT product exports reached USD 14.98billion, up by 8.9% compared to the same month in the previous year. In the wake of expanded exports to major trading countries such as China (Hong Kong included) • the U.S. and remarkable performance of export by items including mobile phones • semiconductors • D-TVs, the export growth rate continues to be expanded. * By region: USD 7.39 billion (China), 9.9%↑, USD 2.08 billion (ASEAN), 11.0%↑, USD 1.47 billion (US), 15.1%↑, USD 840 million (Central America) 10.2%↑ * By item: USD 5.24 billion (Semiconductors), 14%↑, USD 2.4 billion, 30.3%↑(mobile phones), USD 630million (D-TV), 23.8%↑ * By monthly export growth rate (over the same month in the previous year): (’14.January) 1.6 → (February) 8.6 → (March) 8.9 In conclusion, exports in the first quarter were recorded as USD 41.2 billion while trade balance as USD 20.5, reaching the largest achievement (exports and trade balance) in history. Last March, ICT trade balances were in the black, recording a surplus of USD 7.55 billion which was a significant contribution to the nation’s overall trade surplus. By item, semiconductors (USD 3.05 billion, up 3.2%), Display panels (USD 490 million, up 10.3%), D-TV (USD 30 million, up 30.6%) were increased while parts for connection (PCB, USD 410 million, up 6.1%), accessories (USD 330 million, up 2.7%) are on the decline. date2014-04-11

Korea-Australia Trade Ministers to sign Korea-Australia FTA

On April, 8, the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Yoon Sang-jick and the Australian Trade and Investment Minister, Andrew Robb jointly signed the Korea-Australia FTA. The Korea-Australia FTA is the 11th such trade deal for Korea, and makes Australia the country’s 48th FTA partner. The size of FTA markets now stands at 57.3% of GDP (9 ratified FTAs + 2 signed FTAs), with Korea's trade with FTA nations accounting for 39% of its total trade. Bilateral trade between Korea and Australia surged from $18.0B in 2007 to $30.3B in 2013. In addition, around 81% of Korea's total investment in Australia was made during the same period, mostly in the energy • resources sectors, raising hopes for widening trade and investment. As Australia has abundant natural resources, the country is Korea's 5th largest import country for mineral resources. Under the FTA, a stable supply of resources is expected, as the FTA can help strengthen cooperation in resources sector and improve reliability in investment. Under the Korea-Australia FTA, it is expected that our exports to Australia will increase, particularly in the current major export items (automobiles, automotive components, heavy equipment for construction, synthetic resin, steel products, etc.). In particular, Korea's SMEs are expected to benefit from reduced tariffs on promising export items such as automobile bumper, optical fiber cable, filters for air purifiers, foods, cosmetics, and others. Under the Korea-Australia FTA, the parties have agreed on the following: l Market access of goods – With the deal in effect, tariffs on almost all trading items will be eliminated within ten years. (Almost all Australian tariffs will be phased out over five years.) l Automobiles – Both parties agreed to immediately abolish tariffs on mid-size gasoline automobiles (1500~3000cc) and compact gasoline automobiles (1000~1500cc) among the automobiles (tariff rate 5%) exported from Korea to Australia. l Automotive components – Tariffs on tires (tariff rate 5%) are eliminated immediately, with tariffs on automobile components (tariff rate 5%) such as gear box, body components, brakes, and buffers to be abolished within three years. l Home appliances and general machinery – Tariffs on most major home appliances and general machinery such as TVs, refrigerators, laundry machines, heavy equipment for construction, and textile machinery are eliminated. l Steel and petrochemical – Tariffs on most major steel products such as cold/hot rolled carbon steel sheet and metal coated steel sheet and petrochemical products such as synthetic resin are abolished immediately. l Agricultural and livestock industry - To protect Korea's sensitive agricultural and l date2014-04-09

Automobile export sales for March is the second largest in history

- Overall Manufacturing •Domestic consumption• Exports in H1 stay strong - The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister: Yoon Sang-jik) announced that they calculated the figures in the Automobile industry for March, and manufacturing (425,510 vehicles) increased by 16.4%, domestic consumption (138,230) 5.4%, and exports (286,754) 9.9%, compared to the same month of the previous year. The number of vehicles manufactured was recorded at 425,510, up by 16.4% compared to the sam date2014-04-09

Actively Participating in Discussions on Regional Economic Integration in Asia

The 4th round of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations was just held in Nanning, China, over a five-day period that spanned from March 31 (Mon) to April 4 (Fri), 2014. Approximately 500 people from 16 different RCEP member countries took part in the negotiations. The Korean delegation, which was 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. In this fourth round of negotiations, the participating countries continued active discussions in the areas of Goods, Services and Investment, while also launching discussions on Competition, Intellectual Property Rights, and Economic & Technical Cooperation. The discussions focused on key elements, the scope of negotiations and the Scoping Paper that would be included in the agreement. As well, the participating countries had active discussions about including cooperation among Small & Medium Enterprises, E-commerce, and Government Procurement on the agenda for negotiations. The government will also actively participate in discussions of relevant areas such as Competition & Intellectual Property Rights to take RCEP to another level of comprehensive FTA negotiations. The next meeting (5th round of RCEP negotiations) will be held in June 2014 in Singapore. date2014-04-07

Export & Import Trends for March 2014

Thanks to robust exports to advanced nations, the monthly exports for March 2014 were the second highest in Korea’s history, with increasingly higher export growth witnessed in 2014. - Highest monthly exports: USD 50.48 billion in October 2013 - Export growth rate (year-on-year, %): (January 2014) -0.2 → (February) 1.5 → (March) 5.2 More specifically, exports of IT products rose, particularly wireless devices thanks to the growth of the Chinese LTE market and semiconductors as a result of DRAM price hikes, and exports of automobiles and ships grew as well. Meanwhile, exports of LCDs decreased as a result of a drop in panel prices, while petroleum products suffered due to a decrease in demand from major export partners and petrochemical products declined as a result of lowered unit prices of exported goods due to NAPHTHA price declines. - Export growth rate by item (%): Wireless devices 32.1, ships 18.7, automobiles 15.9, semiconductors 14.0, steel 6.7, general machinery -0.1, petroleum products -3.5, petrochemical products -5.0 and LCDs -10.4 Exports to the US, which have shown a temporary decline due to the cold weather and other factors, showed double-digit growth, fueled by robust exports of consumer products (automobiles, wireless devices, etc.) and machinery. In addition, exports to the EU have shown double-digit growth for three consecutive months thanks to robust exports of IT products and petroleum products, while the exports to ASEAN and China have increased thanks to export growth in the area of capital goods. Exports to Japan, prompted by export growth of steel and general machinery and base effects, showed growth for the first time since January 2013. Looking at the imports side, imports grew mainly in the areas of capital goods and consumer products. There was growth in imports of gases thanks to unit price hikes and in crude oil thanks to a rise in import amount growth, while imports of steel and coals declined. - Import growth rate of five major items (%): Gases 4.9, crude oil 0.4, petroleum products 0.0, steel - 1.9 and coal -14.6 Among capital goods, imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment doubled, and imports of the IT sector, including parts of wireless devices, memories and LCD devices, grew. Among consumer products, imports of automobiles, clothes and shoes dramatically grew. Deputy Director Song Jeong-hun, Exp date2014-04-04

4th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Negotiations

The 4th round of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations will be held in Nanning, China for five days, from March 31 (Mon) to April 4 (Fri), 2014. The Korean delegation, headed by Director-General for FTA Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy Kim Young-moo, will include officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. * RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership): 16 countries, including 10 ASEAN countries, Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India, engage in discussing economic integration in the Asia Pacific region. At the fourth round of negotiations, discussions will be held on the methods for Liberalization of Goods, Services and Investment, as well as Regulations and Cooperation issues (Competition, Intellectual Property Rights, Economic & Technical Cooperation, etc.). In order to achieve effective market liberalization in Goods, Services and Investment, negotiations will be carried out with a focus on the modalities (negotiation method, negotiation goal, etc.) proposed by various countries. The discussions will also cover key elements of interest to Korea in the comprehensive FTA negotiations, such as Competition & Intellectual Property Rights. The goal of the RCEP is to conclude a comprehensive, high level FTA among participating countries. This year, 4 rounds of negotiations and 1 ministerial-level talk will be held. date2014-03-31