The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Han Gyu, head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters, held the 7th Korea-China FTA Joint Committee meeting in Beijing on June 25 with Li Chenggang, the Chinese representative for international trade negotiations. They reviewed the implementation of the Korea-China FTA, which marks its 12th year this year, and discussed key improvements raised in various subcommittees concerning tariffs, trade technical barriers, intellectual property rights, and economic cooperation.
The two nations agreed to introduce a self-certification system for certified exporters and to update product-specific rules of origin (PSR). The certified exporter system allows exporters recognized by customs authorities to either receive the authority to issue certificates of origin or to have the issuance process simplified. This new system is expected to streamline the origin certification process for 6,000 domestic companies, reducing time and cost burdens.
While reducing tariffs is important, companies must still go through the origin certification process to benefit from preferential tariffs. If the burden of documentation and verification is high, the utilization of the FTA may decrease. Therefore, this reform is expected to enhance the practical use of the Korea-China FTA.
The product-specific rules of origin will also be updated. The existing rules based on HS 2012 will be changed to HS 2022, which is expected to facilitate smoother import and export procedures and reduce customs risks for businesses.
Discussions also covered trade technical barriers (TBT). Both sides reviewed technical regulations in key industries such as portable batteries, electrical and electronic products, and cosmetics, and discussed ways to enhance regulatory flexibility, including expanding the recognition of test results to improve market access for companies.
These discussions follow the previous day’s meeting of the Korea-China FTA TBT Committee, where concerns from the industry regarding China’s proposed revisions to national standards for portable power banks and lithium-ion batteries in electronic products were conveyed.
Cultural content and intellectual property rights were also major topics. The chief representatives shared the current status of intellectual property rights infringements, such as the illegal distribution of Korean content online, and agreed to expand cooperation to enhance enforcement and protection levels.
In particular, the Korean side emphasized the need to expand legal distribution channels for Korean cultural content in China. They proposed broadening the legitimate cultural content market through follow-up negotiations on services and investments, interpreting that merely cracking down on illegal distribution has its limitations.
In a separate small-group meeting, progress on follow-up negotiations regarding services and investments was also a focal point. Following an agreement in January for both countries to strive for meaningful progress in these negotiations within the year, discussions on key issues are set to accelerate.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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