Assemblyman Song Gap-seok: "Government invests 97 billion won in carbon industry, neglects tariffs unfavorable to Korea"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] It has been revealed that the domestic carbon fiber industry, which is suffering damage due to the unfair tariff rates of the Korea-China FTA, is experiencing setbacks in exports to China.

On the 22nd, according to the 'Korea-China Carbon Fiber Trade Balance' submitted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to Assemblyman Song Gap-seok (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Seo-gu Gap), the trade balance of carbon fiber between Korea and China is deteriorating.

The Korea-China carbon fiber trade balance dropped by 22.9% to $13.82 million in 2016, right after the Korea-China FTA came into effect in 2015, compared to the previous year.

It then recovered to $18.81 million in 2018 but decreased again by 26.6% to $13.81 million last year. This was the lowest figure since the Korea-China FTA took effect in 2015.

The reason for the shrinking trade surplus after the Korea-China FTA is the tariff rates.

It was decided to maintain the tariff rate of 17.5% on Korean carbon fiber and related products exported to China, while the 8% tariff on imports from China was abolished immediately upon the FTA's enforcement.

Assemblyman Song said, “China’s carbon fiber market is growing at an average annual rate of 11%, and production reached 2.35 million tons in 2017, but domestic companies are suffering significant losses due to the unfair Korea-China FTA. The Ministry of Industry should create an equal trading environment with China through follow-up FTA negotiations and strengthen support so that the domestic carbon fiber industry can enter the global market.”

Meanwhile, the government invested 97.1 billion won from 2011 to 2015 to establish a Carbon Valley in Jeonbuk.

Regarding carbon fiber, which is a strengthened item under Japan’s export regulations, the government plans to invest an additional 1 trillion won by 2028, including previous investments such as production line expansions.

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