President Moon: "We will continue to review joining the CPTPP"

Commemorative Speech for the 57th Trade Day

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in said on the 8th, "We will continue to review joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)." This statement reflects the intention of the Korean government to respond strategically, as the Biden administration in the United States is expected to rejoin the CPTPP, and recently the Chinese government also expressed its intention to join. This is the first time President Moon has publicly expressed his intention to join the CPTPP.

On the morning of the same day, President Moon attended the '57th Trade Day (December 5)' event held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and said in his commemorative speech, "Diversifying markets is a task that must be achieved." He added, "We will further expand the free trade agreement (FTA) network centered on the New Southern and New Northern countries with enormous potential," and "We will actively participate in international discussions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Group of Twenty (G20) to restore free trade and multilateralism and to lower trade barriers."

President Moon's speech on this day is interpreted as a measure to seek a flexible trade policy response amid the intensifying US-China conflict. Since Korea has already joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) led by China, the focus is on coordinating steps with the newly launched Biden administration. About 40 people, including government and National Assembly officials, trade contributors, and companies awarded the Export Tower, attended the event hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association.

In particular, with key business organizations such as the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Korea Employers Federation, and the Federation of Korean Mid-sized Enterprises attending, President Moon emphasized the necessity of the government's '2050 Carbon Neutrality' strategy. He said, "Carbon neutrality is an irreversible trend," and "Trade cannot be an exception." He added, "The introduction of carbon border taxes is already being discussed in countries like the European Union (EU) and the United States," urging, "Our export companies must quickly achieve energy transition and establish eco-friendly infrastructure." He also said, "We must lead the upcoming green economy era and proactively remove potential trade regulations," and promised, "The government will actively support the efforts of our export companies toward a low-carbon economy through the 'Green New Deal.'"

However, the business community is concerned that the government's '2050 Carbon Neutrality' plan lacks specifics and that the carbon border tax could be used as a basis for introducing a carbon tax by our government, effectively leading to a tax increase.

President Moon urged, "All countries will fiercely compete to seize the recovering global market after the COVID-19 pandemic," and said, "We must prepare for change one step ahead and confidently face the new challenges of the post-COVID-19 era with our capabilities." He concluded his commemorative speech by saying, "We have grown trade the fastest in the world by competing fairly within the framework of free trade," and "Although the international trade environment is rapidly changing, we will cooperatively work with trade partners through 'trade that benefits people'."

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