Meeting Held to Develop Alternative Energy Regulations for Russia and Other New Northern Regions

Kukpyowon Holds '1st Korea-EAEU Technical Regulation Cooperation Video Conference'
Requests Resolution of Export Difficulties for Korean Companies, Discusses Permanent Operation of Technical Regulation Cooperation Channel

Lee Seung-woo, Director of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced on the 10th that Russia and the other five New Northern countries are imposing 'hidden energy technology regulations' that have not been officially notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and held a meeting to address this issue.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Technology and Standards (NITS) announced that it will hold the "1st Korea-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Technical Regulation Cooperation Meeting" online over two days from the 10th to the 11th.

The meeting was held to ease trade technical barriers with the EAEU, an economic organization in the New Northern region, and was conducted in a public-private cooperation format involving domestic companies.

The government has designated this year as the "Year of New Northern Cooperation" and is strengthening economic cooperation with New Northern countries by promoting the Korea-EAEU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), among other efforts.

The meeting was attended by NITS, trade technical barrier consortium-affiliated associations, and major export companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. On the EAEU side, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) participated.

The EEC is the executive body that oversees and operates the EAEU's common technical regulations and common certification system (EAC).

The EAEU is actively introducing regional common technical regulations and certification systems (EAC) in line with the trend of strengthening protectionism.

However, detailed information and implementation plans regarding EAEU technical regulations have not been clearly disclosed, which is expected to cause difficulties for our export companies.

Accordingly, NITS established a technical regulation cooperation channel with the EAEU to proactively respond to trade technical barriers and organized the meeting to disseminate the latest trends in technical regulations for major export items such as passenger cars and related parts to domestic companies.

On the 10th, NITS will focus on discussing the "EAEU Electrical and Electronic Energy Efficiency Regulation" through a bilateral meeting with the EEC.

The regulation includes ▲ the introduction of energy efficiency regulations for energy-consuming devices ▲ compliance with product-specific requirements and conformity assessment installation from September 1 next year ▲ mandatory attachment of energy efficiency labeling.

Companies are complaining about difficulties in preemptively responding to regulations due to the lack of clear information on detailed specifications of the target product groups and labeling designs.

First, since the regulation is a hidden technical regulation not officially notified to the WTO, NITS requested that it be officially notified to the WTO Trade Technical Barriers (TBT) Committee to be publicized at the WTO.

Additionally, to enable our companies to adequately respond to the new regulations, NITS requested ▲ clear information on label formats and certification acquisition procedures by product group ▲ abolition of existing energy efficiency regulations individually operated by member countries.

Furthermore, NITS requested information on the EAEU's future plans for technical regulation formulation and revision, and discussed the continuous operation of the technical regulation cooperation channel with the EAEU and mid- to long-term cooperation plans.

On the 11th, a technical regulation briefing session (online meeting) will be held with direct participation from domestic company representatives such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

Our companies will inquire about ambiguous detailed regulations and testing and certification procedures of the EAEU's technical regulations, and EAEU regulatory officials will respond directly, providing an opportunity to immediately resolve various export difficulties.

Lee Seung-woo, head of NITS, emphasized, "This technical regulation cooperation meeting will serve as a stepping stone to prepare for the Eurasian era through solidarity and cooperation with the EAEU, a central organization in the New Northern region," and added, "We will proactively resolve difficulties faced by our export companies through continuous technical regulation cooperation with New Northern countries and other trade expansion target countries."

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