FKI Sends Letter to EU Requesting Inclusion of Korea in Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Exemption Countries

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced on the 27th that it has sent a letter urging that South Korea be included among the countries exempted from the European Union (EU)'s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

On the same day, the FKI delivered the letter of appeal, signed by Chairman Huh Chang-soo, to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the European Green Deal. In the letter, the FKI stated that reducing carbon emissions is an unavoidable task and a shared goal in addressing climate change, and expressed hope that the EU's introduction of CBAM could complement international environmental measures and aid global decarbonization efforts.

However, the FKI emphasized that imposing discriminatory measures between imported and domestically produced goods based on their country of origin could violate free trade norms. Therefore, CBAM, justified by carbon reduction, should not become a new trade barrier protecting domestic industries, and must be designed and operated in a way that does not undermine the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

The FKI proposed that "South Korea is one of the few countries worldwide implementing a carbon emissions trading system," and "considering these efforts, South Korea should be included among the countries exempted from CBAM." It explained that the EU Commission has announced that countries applying carbon pricing similar to the EU would be excluded from CBAM, and South Korea has been recognized for implementing a comparable emissions trading system (mandatory and public carbon pricing regulation) to the EU.

Furthermore, the FKI argued that during the future process of determining detailed CBAM criteria, the carbon neutrality policies of each country should be reflected so that domestic companies do not suffer disadvantages. The government should enhance its negotiating power by jointly responding with related countries such as the United States, China, Japan, Australia, as well as Russia and Turkey, which are expected to be severely affected by CBAM, and the EU. Kim Bong-man, Director of International Cooperation at the FKI, stated, "The most urgent priority for reducing carbon emissions is not regulation, but rather the sharing of advanced technologies by developed countries and expanded support for climate change funds."

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