Yoon Jinsik Heads to Belgium After US Trip... Aims to Minimize EU CBAM Impact

Full-scale Trade Diplomacy with Europe Begins
Next Month's "Korea-EU Networking Day"
Meeting with Senior Officials of the European Commission
Plan to Convey the Position of Korean Industries

Yoon Jinsik, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, will personally visit Europe to prepare for the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by the European Union (EU) starting in January next year. Shifting the focus of trade diplomacy, which has so far been centered on the United States, toward Europe, Chairman Yoon has begun laying the groundwork to minimize the potential impact on Korean companies resulting from the introduction of this system.

Yoon Jinsik, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, is attending the meeting of the heads of five economic organizations with presidential candidates held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul on May 8, 2025. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

According to the business community on May 21, Chairman Yoon is scheduled to attend the "Korea-EU Networking Day" event to be held in Brussels, Belgium, on June 10. The event, organized by the Korea International Trade Association, will be attended by several high-ranking officials from the European Commission. Chairman Yoon plans to convey the position of Korean industries regarding CBAM during meetings with these officials.

CBAM is a system that imposes carbon costs on foreign companies importing products with high carbon emissions, such as steel, aluminum, cement, and fertilizers, at the same level as those faced by companies within Europe. The EU's position is that this system is intended to prevent its own eco-friendly companies from being subjected to unfair competition. As a result, Korean companies exporting to Europe will also be required to pay a kind of carbon tax based on the carbon emissions generated during their production processes, raising concerns that this could weaken their price competitiveness.

The Korea International Trade Association believes that, since CBAM could become a substantial barrier to Korean companies entering the European market, it is necessary to strengthen consultations with the EU from the outset of the system and to secure diplomatic channels that fully reflect the stance of the domestic industry. Chairman Yoon's visit to Brussels is part of this strategy.

Chairman Yoon has recently been intensifying trade diplomacy with Europe. Notably, this schedule comes less than a month after he led an economic delegation to an investment promotion event held in Washington, DC, from May 12 to 15, drawing attention from the business community to his consecutive overseas engagements.

It is reported that Chairman Yoon, immediately after returning to Korea on May 19, went to work on May 20 to prepare for his business trip to Brussels. An official from the Korea International Trade Association explained, "Responding to CBAM is a race against time," and added, "The reason Chairman Yoon is personally overseeing the situation is because of the urgency involved."

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