Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

5th Official Negotiations for Korea-New Zealand FTA To Be Held (Feb 17 through 21)

The 5th negotiation for the Korea-New Zealand FTA will be held in Wellington, New Zealand, from February 17 (Mon) to February 21, 2014. ※ Date and Location: February 17 (Mon) through February 21 (Friday), 2014, Wellington, New Zealand ※ Participants - (Korea) Lee Seong-ho, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Chief Representative) and members of government delegations 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 - (New Zealand) Martin Harvey, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Chief Representative) and members of government delegations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Both parties will make efforts to come up with solutions to the remaining issues across the FTA negotiation areas between the two countries (market access and agreement). date2014-02-14

Korea and Australia Initialize FTA

Both parties agreed to the official signing of the FTA during the 1st half of this year, and the enforcement of the FTA as soon as possible according to the procedures required in both countries. The English version of the Korea-Australia FTA initialized on February 10 will be disclosed at the FTA website of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (www.fta.go.kr), and the Korean version (draft) will be disclosed after the disclosure of the English version following the required reviews. date2014-02-14

MOTIE Enhances Economic Cooperation with Central European Countries

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister: Yoon Sang-jik) selected Hungary and Rumania as its first target countries in the emerging markets in which its market development activities for 2014 will be implemented, and dispatched an economic mission headed by Vice Minister Kim Jae-hong to these countries from January 25 to 29. The economic mission includes government agencies like the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the Small and Medium Business Administration and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and support institutions such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, KEPCO, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and Korea Line Corporation. Hungary is Korea‟s 10th biggest trading partner among the EU countries and is one of the key trade bases from which Korean companies can advance into the Western European and the Balkan markets. Currently, major Korean companies like Samsung Electronics and Hankook Tire are expanding their investments in Hungary, which has included the installation of new factories. In addition, Hungary exited from the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP*) in 2013 after 9 years of the EU's budget scrutiny program, and has been focusing on its new “Look East” policy to enhance its economic partnerships with Asian countries. * A country subject to EDP is a member state that has breached or is in risk of breaching the deficit threshold of 3% of GDP, and as such is subject to restrictions on budgeting and EU funds. The economic mission held the first „Korea-Hungary Joint Economic Committee‟ on January 27 and discussed issues related to national cooperation between Korea and Hungary in various fields, including trade investment, creative economy, national defense and SME promotion. * Chief of Delegation:Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (Korea) , Minister of Economy (Hungary) The parties entered into an MOU in 4 areas, which were establishing a cooperative network for SMEs, specialized nuclear human resource development, cooperation for technical innovation and ECA agreement, and they agreed to cooperate in a comprehensive manner for Korean exports of electronic trading systems and technology in the field of the defense industry. * MOU: KEPCO, KNA - Hungary Budapest University of Technology (nuclear specialist development), Small and Medium Business Administration – Hungary‟s Ministry of Economy (support for SMBs), Korea Institute of Industrial Technology – Hungary‟s National Innovation Agency (technical innovation), Korea Trade Insurance Corporation – Hungary‟s ECA (trade insurance) As well, 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Hungary, and the Chambers of Commerce & Industry of both countries jointly held an economic cooperation forum in which major companies of both countries participated. During his congratulatory address, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jae-hong discussed Korea‟s new creative economy policy and proposed that the two countries pay more attention to promoting world-leading innovative companies through joint research and development and industrial innovation activities using the EU fund. The economic mission is scheduled to visit Rumania and hold a Korea-Rumania industrial cooperation committee to discuss cooperation between the two countries. In this committee, Vice Minister Kim Jae-hong is planning to ask the Rumanian government for cooperation in resolving difficulties* experienced by Korean companies in Rumania. * Difficulties in investment due to the reduction of renewable energy incentives (Samsung C&T Corporation), Rumanian government‟s non-fulfillment of public waters dredging (Daewoo Mangalia shipyard) * (Main agenda of Korea-Rumania date2014-01-29

3rd Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

The 3rd RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) negotiations were held from January 20 (Mon) to 24 (Fri), 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the negotiations, the Chief Negotiator for Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy Woo Tae-hee attended as the Head of the Korean delegation, joining representatives from a total of 16 countries including the 10 ASEAN countries* and 6 AFP countries (Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India) that signed FTAs with ASEAN. ※ 10 ASEAN countries: The Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia At the third round of negotiations, discussions were held on the methods for liberalizing goods, services and investments, as well as cooperation in the area of standards (competition, intellectual property rights, dispute settlement, economic & technical cooperation, etc.). The details are as follows: - Negotiations were carried out focusing on modalities (negotiation method, negotiation goal, etc.) proposed by various countries in the Trade in Goods Working Group. Also, in the Sub-Working Groups of Rules of Origin (ROO) and Customs Procedures & Trade facilitation, discussions were focused on what to be included in these areas - Working Group meetings were also held for the service and investment sector, respectively, and member countries exchanged opinions regarding liberalization method & elements to be covered in the text In addition to the goods, services and investments sectors, discussions were also held on the standards and fields of cooperation. At these negotiations, the participating countries agreed to establish four Working Groups for competition, intellectual property rights, dispute settlement, and economic & technical cooperation, respectively. In the rules area, Korea’s interested areas, such as Competition & Intellectual Property Rights, were included, thus providing us with the basis to reflect our national interests. Furthermore, it is expected that the negotiations will eventually develop into a comprehensive RCEP, covering a wide range of areas. ※ Our delegates led the discussions in the competition and dispute settlement areas by circulating proposals and making presentations. It was agreed that the next meeting (4th RCEP Negotiations) would be held in China in April. Currently, the RCEP is holding discussions, with the goal of reaching an agreement by 2015, and is scheduled to have four rounds of negotiations this year. 3rd Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Negotiations Contact Information East Asia FTA Planning Team, Director Cho Su-jeong (☎ 010-4603-9624) date2014-01-28

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