Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea-Turkey FTA to Take Effect on May 1

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has announced that the Framework Agreement Establishing a Free Trade Area between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Turkey and their Agreement on Trade in Goods will be brought into force on May 1, 2013. The trade deal was officially signed in August 2012, but domestic procedures for implementation in both countries were completed at the end of March 2013. With the deal in effect, tariffs on almost all trading items will be eliminated within ten years. For industrial products, in particular, all tariffs will be phased out over a seven-year period. The Turkish economy shows great potential, with strong recent growth and the second largest population in Europe. Given the nation’s geographically strategic importance as a bridge between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the trade pact is expected to serve as an important catalyst for the two economies to expand and develop bilateral economic and trade relations and widen the scope of their cooperation. In order to pursue a comprehensive agreement, the two sides have also agreed to conclude negotiations on services and investment within one year of the entry into force of the Agreement. The Korea-Turkey FTA is the ninth such trade deal for Korea and makes Turkey the country’s 46th FTA partner. * Released by the FTA Negotiation Coordination Division date2013-04-05

Korea Holds the 1st Round of Negotiations for a Trilateral FTA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy hosted the first three-day round of negotiations for a free trade agreement among China, Japan and Korea on March 26. Deputy Minister for Trade Choi Kyonglim led the Korean delegation, which consisted of officials from the relevant authorities including Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The Japanese and Chinese delegations were led by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Koji Tsuruoka and Assistant Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua, respectively. The three chief negotiators adopted the Terms of Reference for the negotiations, including basic principles and guidelines. They also discussed general issues such as the scope of the negotiations and the formation of working groups. Specifically, the scope of the negotiations will be based on the results of joint studies by government, industry and academia and, though other issues can be added if necessary by consensus among the three parties. While trilateral negotiations on goods, services and investments will proceed simultaneously, two-way talks will be allowed on goods. The three countries will continue to work on the specific issues of the negotiations in two more rounds of talks later this year. The second round is scheduled to be held in China in June or July. * Released by the East Asia FTA Bureau date2013-04-03

Trade Figures for March

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Retail Sales Figures for February

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MKE Releases Car Sales Figures for February

MKE Releases Car Sales Figures for February The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has released its car sales figures for February. As the Lunar New Year holiday fell in February this year, resulting in fewer working days, Korea’s car production contracted 19.8 percent year on year to 338,278 vehicles. The holiday and weaker local demand hurt sales of domestic cars, but strong sales of German brands helped sales of imported cars rise 14.8 percent to 10,556 vehicles. Meanwhile, a contraction in date2013-03-12

IT Trade Figures for February

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Trade Figures for February

Exports fell 8.6 percent year on year to $42.3 billion, but the average value of total exports per day rose 2.5 percent to $2.1 billion. While outbound shipments of wireless communications devices and petrochemicals posted robust performances, exports of ships and steel remained sluggish. The double-digit growth in wireless communications devices was thanks to the rapidly expanding global Long Term Evolution (LTE) market and growing sales of major smartphone models. Exports of ships and steel continued to decline amid generally downward trends in major trading partners. With the exception of the ASEAN region, most key trading partners showed negative growth. date2013-03-04

Retail Sales Figures for January

Sales at the nation’s major department stores fell 8.2 percent from a year earlier due to the late arrival of the Lunar New Year holiday and the economic slowdown. With the exception of children’s goods and sporting goods and household goods, spending on most categories showed negative growth. Sales of household goods gained thanks to a low base effect from the previous year and major household appliance makers’ heavy marketing of new models. date2013-02-21