Government Discusses Participation in US-Led 'Indo-Pacific Economic Cooperation'

The 24th Trade Promotion Committee Meeting Held

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government discussed countermeasures for the 'Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)' conceived by the United States as a means to contain China.

On the 6th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the 24th Trade Promotion Committee meeting at the Government Complex Sejong, chaired by Ye Han-gu, Director-General for Trade Negotiations. Officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries attended the meeting.

The meeting discussed trends related to IPEF and the South Korean government's response direction.

The government stated that although the U.S. side's IPEF plan has not yet been concretized, it is expected to promote comprehensive regional economic cooperation in areas such as digital, supply chains, and climate change. It explained that it will closely discuss with the U.S. side to identify detailed contents and decide on participation and cooperation levels by comprehensively considering economic cooperation effects, impacts on Korean companies, and positions of major countries from the perspective of maximizing national interests.

The meeting also addressed the achievements and future plans related to free trade agreements (FTAs) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the past five years.

The government has been actively advancing the New Southern FTA network with Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines, as well as new market FTAs with five Central American countries and Israel. As a result, the number of concluded FTAs increased from 15 in 2016 to 22 last year, securing 85% of the global trade network.

Furthermore, the government plans to actively support the utilization of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year while pursuing accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), another mega FTA. It also intends to expand new market FTAs such as with Mexico, Mercosur, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and actively respond to new trade issues including digital trade and environmental and climate change measures.

Negotiations to improve the Korea-United Kingdom FTA will also be pursued within this year.

In addition, the government plans to continuously promote the 'National Wealth Creation Trade' policy established last year, focusing on five strategic areas: supply chains, technology, digital, carbon neutrality, and health/vaccines.

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