Yeo Han-gu: "Korea-Mexico FTA Will Be a Game Changer for Both Economies' Leap"

Yeohan Gu, Head of the Trade Negotiation Department at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, held a meeting with Tatiana Clouthier, Minister of Economy of Mexico, on the 1st (local time) in the conference room of the Mexican Ministry of Economy, and agreed to resume FTA negotiations after 14 years, taking a commemorative photo.

Yeo Han-gu, Head of the Trade Negotiation Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "The Korea-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been a long-standing task for the trade authorities of both countries," adding, "We expect it to serve as a game changer that will elevate the economic relationship between the two countries at a time when supply chains have become more important than ever."

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 3rd, Yeo made these remarks during the Korea-Mexico Trade Ministers' Meeting held in Mexico City on the 1st (local time), where both sides agreed to resume the FTA negotiations that had been suspended since 2008 after 14 years. The two countries plan to hold the first round of FTA negotiations in the first half of the year and will conduct preliminary consultations within this month. The background for resuming the FTA negotiations is the recent global supply chain crisis, intensified by the spread of COVID-19 and the Ukraine situation, which has led to a consensus on the need for strategic trade cooperation for expansion into Asia and Latin America.

Yeo plans to actively pursue tariff elimination measures for Korea’s major export items through the Korea-Mexico FTA. Key targets include automobiles (tariff rates 15-20%), steel (15%), refrigerators (10-15%), and TVs (10-15%), which Mexico imposes high tariffs on. Yeo envisions placing on the negotiation table a plan to gradually abolish tariffs on major items, similar to the Japan-Mexico Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that took effect in 2005. Previously, Mexico reduced tariffs on items such as automobiles and steel after the EPA came into effect and completely eliminated tariffs in 2015, ten years later.

They also plan to pursue the signing of a Korea-Mexico supply chain cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This is intended for joint cooperation in the event of global supply chain crises such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yeo intends to closely cooperate with Mexico, which possesses key resources for secondary batteries and semiconductor production, based on Korea’s strong competitiveness in the semiconductor, battery, and electric vehicle industries.

On the 2nd (local time), Yeo held a video conference with Julio Jose Prado, Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment, and Fisheries of Ecuador, to promote the resumption of the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) negotiations, which have been suspended since the fifth round in 2016. Ecuador’s new administration under President Lasso is actively pursuing an open foreign policy, which is expected to significantly contribute to diversifying exports of Korean companies in the Latin American region and stabilizing supply chains. Yeo said, "As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Mexico, it is time to upgrade economic cooperation based on our long-standing partnership," adding, "We will actively pursue a bilateral FTA to jointly address 21st-century challenges such as supply chains, climate change, and digital transformation."

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