Gwangju Chamber of Commerce's 'OK FTA Consulting' Resolves Export Difficulties for Companies

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairman Jeong Chang-seon)'s Gwangju Regional FTA Utilization Support Center has started the OK FTA consulting project for the first time this year, helping to resolve difficulties faced by export companies.

On the 21st, according to the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce, the OK FTA consulting is a customized consulting service for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies, excluding large corporations, that supports companies exporting to or planning to export to FTA partner countries with FTA utilization and origin management, including origin management, issuance of certificates of origin, and acquisition of certified exporter certification.

The Gwangju Chamber of Commerce supported 22 companies through OK FTA consulting by assisting with certified exporter certification acquisition and issuance of certificates of origin by product and company, and provided consulting on overall origin management such as HS code verification and retention of supporting documents for small businesses.

According to a satisfaction survey of the 22 companies that benefited from the consulting, the majority of respondents expressed very high satisfaction with the consulting, and requests were confirmed for the expansion of the OK FTA consulting support project, logistics cost support, and simplification of procedures in the future.

Company A is a company that manufactures and distributes cosmetics such as shampoo and treatment through OEM methods, and is planning to export directly to Thailand and Vietnam. The buyer requested the acquisition of product-specific certified exporter certification, so they urgently applied for the OK FTA consulting project, and after obtaining the certification, the planned export was able to proceed.

Additionally, the materials used for acquiring product-specific certified exporter certification were utilized as samples, creating an opportunity to export to Canada.

Company B is a company that manufactures and exports medical devices and optical devices. At the time of application, they were exporting to India and urgently requested the issuance of a certificate of origin from the importer side. However, lacking related knowledge, they were able to quickly obtain the certificate of origin through OK FTA consulting and proceed with the export as planned.

Lee Hu-hyung, head of the Gwangju Regional FTA Utilization Support Center, stated, “OK FTA consulting supports SMEs and mid-sized companies struggling with FTA utilization, and it is expected to have a positive effect on the overall regional economy in the rapidly changing trade environment.” He added, “The Gwangju FTA Utilization Support Center will take the lead in supporting regional export companies through various support projects such as OK FTA consulting in preparation for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is scheduled to take effect in February next year.”

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