Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Korea puts Japan back on export whitelist
President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands at the Japanese Prime Minister's office in Tokyo, March 16. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
The government will put Japan back on its official export whitelist from today, which will enable the neighboring country to benefit from simplified export procedures, the trade ministry said, Friday.
The move comes more than three years and seven months after Japan was removed from the whitelist in response its unilateral imposition of export restrictions on Korea in August 2019.
“With the reinstatement of Japan to the whitelist of strategic goods export destinations, it is expected that procedural convenience will be enhanced by shortening the permit review period for Korean companies to export strategic goods to Japan from 15 days to 5 days and simplifying the number of documents to be submitted from 5 to 3,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.
In 2019, Japan imposed curbs on the exports of three core materials to Korea used in the production of semiconductors and displays in an apparent retaliation against Seoul's top court ruling in October 2018, which ordered Nippon Steel to compensate wartime forced labor victims during World War II.
However, the frosty relations between Korea and Japan took a sharp turn for the better in March when President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit and agreed to mend ties.
Ahead of the whitelist reinstatement of the country, Korea also dropped its World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint against Japan's export curbs in March.
While Korea has been speedy in including Japan on its whitelist once again, the reverse case of Japan putting Korea back on its own whitelist is taking longer.
The trade ministry explained the apparent delay a systematic difference between the two countries. While Korea can finalize the process with an import and export notification, Japan requires the cabinet to pass the ordinance and the procedure is expected to take around two months.
“We have been holding several export control policy dialogues to discuss Japan's decision to re-include Korea on its whitelist,” an official from the trade ministry said, adding, “We are hoping for progress and a decision to be made soon.”
The trade ministry held the 10th export management policy dialogue with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry via a video conference on April 10, 12 and 13. From April 18 to 20, the two sides held face-to-face negotiations in Korea.
In recent meetings, the trade ministry said it explained to its Japanese counterparts the operation of its export control system. The explanation included the procedures for determining strategic items, the examination and approval process for major strategic items and products that require government approval due to their potential of being used as weapons.
The Japanese side also explained its measures and the effectiveness of monitoring diverted exports to countries of concern, the ministry added.
With the previously stalled government-to-government dialogue now in place, the two sides are continuing to work to restore the trade situation to where it was before 2019. The trade ministry said it will hold additional meetings in Japan on Monday and Tuesday.