Korea, EU launch special joint committee on emerging trade issues

Vice Trade Minister Park Jung-sung / Yonhap

Korea and the European Union (EU) established Tuesday a special joint committee to discuss emerging trade and economic issues, including the EU's push for industrial regulations, Seoul's trade ministry said.

The Korea-EU Specialized Committee on Emerging Trade and Economic Issues held its inaugural meeting in Seoul, jointly led by Korean Vice Trade Minister Park Jung-sung and the EU's director general for trade and economic security, Sabine Weyand.

The vice trade ministerial committee was newly established to help the two sides jointly respond to recent shifts in the global trade environment, including global supply chain restructuring and the rise of trade protectionism, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

In Tuesday's meeting, Park and Weyand exchanged views on pending trade issues between the two sides, including critical minerals, supply chains and advanced technologies.

They agreed on the need to deepen collaboration in critical minerals as both Korea and the EU lack production infrastructure of such materials, and also concurred to explore a joint response to the Mideast crisis as "like-minded" economies, the ministry said.

Regarding the EU's recent push for industrial regulations, Park said Seoul welcomes the EU's decision, reflected in the final draft of its Industrial Accelerator Act, to provide equal treatment as EU-produced products to those originating from countries that have a free trade agreement with the EU.

Still, Park called for additional efforts to resolve remaining uncertainties in the bill, highlighting related concerns that have been raised by the Korean government and companies, according to the ministry.

The ministry said Seoul also stressed that the EU's push to reduce tariff-free quotas on foreign steel should come in line with free trade rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO) system and should not excessively restrict Korean companies' access to the European market.