Korean trade minister discusses exports with commercial officers from 26 nations

The meeting on Wed. attended by Minister Lee Chang-yang and commercial officers from 26 countries [Photo provided by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy called in commercial officers that are on foreign missions in 26 countries for a three-day meeting this week to discuss measures to boost weak exports.

The ministry kicked off the meeting Wednesday attended by 29 commercial officers from all over the world that are at the forefront in global exports and industry sites. The meeting was held as part of efforts to see growth in exports this year and preemptively respond to growing protectionism in major countries.

The meeting was attended by Minister Lee Chang-yang and other ministry officials including deputy minister for trade and deputy minister for industrial policy. Commercial officers from 9 countries including the U.S., European Union, China, Vietnam, and India gave a presentation and discussed measures to respond to trade issues.

According to their presentations, the intensifying U.S.-China conflict may pose a risk to Korea’s exports and investments but opportunities remain as Korean companies’ investment in the U.S. leads to a rise in related exports. Korea’s role is also growing as the U.S. government enhances its supply chain.

They noted that more government support is needed in the areas the U.S. government is interested in such as sectors related to the environment, supply chain, and infrastructure. They also called for strict risk management in the commerce sector to offer more opportunities to Korean companies amid the U.S.’s chip guardrail and Inflation Reduction Act.

In the EU, Korea should seek to expand its presence in key industry sectors such as batteries and new partnerships following the EU Green Deal and digitization.

In China, commercial officers noted that creating a friendly atmosphere for economic cooperation is most important and that it is crucial to take advantage of opportunities from China’s reopening of its economy after the pandemic.

In the case of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the commercial officers proposed a strategy to support core projects and strategies to jump into the promising export sectors to leverage the export and investment momentum gained after the summits in November last year and January. They also underscored the need to strengthen pan-government efforts and public-private collaboration.