Gyeonggi FTA Center Supports Free Trade Agreement Utilization and Trade... 95% Satisfaction Among Local SMEs

It was found that 95% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Gyeonggi-do participating in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization and trade support project were satisfied.

Gyeonggi-do and the Gyeonggi Regional FTA Trade Promotion Center announced on the 31st that a satisfaction and FTA utilization survey was conducted from July to November last year targeting participants of the ‘2024 Second Half FTA Utilization and Trade Support Project,’ and the results showed this.

The survey was conducted on 2,427 employees of SMEs in the province who participated in the project.

In the survey, 95% of participating companies responded that they were ‘satisfied’ with the overall project. In particular, 95.7% and 94.1% of respondents said they were ‘very satisfied’ with the one-on-one FTA consulting through company visits and consulting for companies not utilizing FTAs, respectively, indicating that it provided practical help in strengthening companies’ operational capabilities.

Satisfaction with the carbon border tax response support project increased by 2.4 percentage points compared to the previous year, showing a satisfaction rate of 94.4%. The global supply chain response support project increased by 6 percentage points compared to the previous year.

As for future desired projects, regional touring FTA practical training (18.6%) and FTA overseas market regional entry strategy briefings (17.4%) accounted for a high proportion.

The response rate for participation in the online platform marketing support project increased 2.4 times from 5.2% last year to 12.7%, and the response rate for the non-tariff barrier response support project increased 1.6 times from 5% to 8.2%.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

26.5% of participating companies responded that they experienced an increase in exports, and among them, 18.7% said that FTA utilization was a major factor. This is a 6.2 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year, analyzed as a result of efforts to secure price competitiveness and expand export opportunities through FTAs.

Gyeonggi-do plans to reflect the results of this survey in the establishment and operation of this year’s project plans.

Park Kyung-seo, Director of the International Trade Division of Gyeonggi-do, emphasized, “Gyeonggi-do and the Gyeonggi FTA Center will work together so that export companies facing difficulties due to changes in the trade environment such as the spread of protectionism can overcome barriers to entering overseas markets and achieve continuous results.”

The Gyeonggi FTA Center supports ▲ Free Trade Agreement (FTA) consulting ▲ FTA, trade, and commerce-related education and briefings ▲ support for acquiring major overseas certifications ▲ export consultation support for responding to non-tariff barriers ▲ discovery support for alternative supply chains of raw and subsidiary materials ▲ carbon emission calculation consulting ▲ online platform marketing support projects.

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