KOTRA Holds North America Trade Expansion Strategy Meeting in Vancouver

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] KOTRA announced on the 12th that it held the North America Trade and Investment Expansion Strategy Meeting in Vancouver, Canada on the 10th. At the gathering of all North America trade center heads, KOTRA President Kwon Pyung-oh emphasized the need to establish an advanced export support strategy suitable for the new decade.

President Kwon stated, "Following the small deal between the U.S. and China, the economic rebound sentiment is rising," adding, "We will lead the re-acceleration of our exports in the changing North American market by leveraging the global value chain (GVC) restructuring movement."

Despite the prolonged trade disputes causing difficulties in the global economy last year, our exports to North America recorded positive growth, serving as a pillar of support. As of December 2019, North American exports reached $77.46 billion, a 0.5% increase compared to the previous year. This year, the North American market is expected to continue its growth trend due to sustained employment and consumption strength. However, variables such as President Trump's impeachment status and approval rating changes amid the U.S. presidential election, ongoing protectionism, and expanding geopolitical risks remain.

To respond to changes in the North American market and navigate uncertainties, KOTRA established four major advancement strategies at this meeting: ▲ responding to trade disputes and GVC restructuring ▲ supporting exports of new industries ▲ upgrading consumer goods exports ▲ attracting investment, market entry, and supporting startups, and presented the direction of its projects.

Kwon Pyung-oh, President of KOTRA (fifth from the right), is taking a commemorative photo with the heads of trade offices in the North American region attending the meeting.

First, KOTRA plans to discover demand for switching import sources due to prolonged trade disputes and utilize it as an opportunity to enter the GVC. Due to accumulated fatigue from the prolonged U.S.-China trade dispute and dissatisfaction with the quality of Chinese products, movements to change sourcing away from Chinese goods have been detected.

KOTRA plans to continuously attract local buyers' interest, focusing on items expected to benefit from this ripple effect. Projects linked to key industries of each trade center will be promoted, such as automotive parts (Detroit), machinery equipment (Chicago), and energy equipment (Dallas).

Additionally, KOTRA will nurture new industry companies by connecting export support with technology cooperation and development. KOTRA emphasized the need to fully utilize the innovative atmosphere of the North American market, which leads global technology and industry, including the realization of the 4th Industrial Revolution following 5G commercialization and the continued growth in the medical and bio sectors.

This year, KOTRA will provide on-site support at CES (January), AutoTech (May), Bio-Tech (June), K-Global (September), and semiconductor, robotics, and aerospace GP projects, offering opportunities to enter new growth sectors. The commitment is to go beyond simple exports and actively facilitate technology cooperation with global companies.

For consumer goods, KOTRA plans to build brand images and upgrade them to use the North American market as a foothold to target the global market. This year, KOTRA will support Korean companies in building brand images and contribute to both quantitative and qualitative innovation in our consumer goods exports.

In particular, KOTRA will expand the 'Brand in US Export Global' strategy, which was piloted last year with great response, by hosting the K-Lifestyle Consumer Goods Expo. The brand premium established in the North American market will be actively utilized to target global markets such as China, ASEAN, and South America.

KOTRA will continue comprehensive activities to secure the core competitiveness of Korean companies in materials, parts, and equipment. This year, KOTRA will hold convergence projects in materials, parts, equipment, high-tech new industries, and premium consumer goods sectors. Especially in North America, KOTRA will expand the discovery and brokerage of promising investment and M&A projects by establishing a technology acquisition-type M&A support center and a Korean investment company support center.

In collaboration with local specialized organizations, KOTRA will support startups' market entry and growth at each stage of settlement, investment, and marketing. The goal is to carry out comprehensive activities to secure the core competitiveness of our companies and accumulate diverse know-how.

KOTRA President Kwon Pyung-oh said, "Throughout this year, we will actively respond to changes such as new markets, new industries, and new consumption through export structure improvement and continuous innovation, and spare no support to help our export companies expand their businesses more actively."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.