South Korea and Japan are intensifying their collaboration to diversify critical mineral supply chains and ensure stable supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum products. They will also jointly respond to global environmental and supply chain regulations, including the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that on September 2, it held the first implementation meeting of the South Korea-Japan Supply Chain Partnership Agreement (SCPA) in Tokyo, Japan. Kim Jang-hee, the Ministry's Director of New Trade Strategy, and Shogo Tanaka, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Director of Trade Strategy, served as the chief representatives.
The SCPA, signed in March, aims to enhance cooperation in critical minerals and resources and to jointly respond to supply chain crises. It also includes provisions for collaboration on global trade issues and the establishment of regular intergovernmental consultations.
During a summit in May, the leaders of both countries agreed to strengthen the resilience of supply chains in key industrial sectors based on the SCPA. This meeting marks the first implementation session aimed at translating that agreement into specific collaborative projects.
The two sides shared their respective policies to diversify and stabilize critical mineral supply chains. They discussed bilateral and multilateral cooperation strategies to reduce dependence on specific countries for critical minerals. They also agreed to continue cooperation to secure stable supplies of LNG and crude oil in the event of an energy supply chain crisis.
Additionally, they exchanged information on regulatory trends requiring carbon emissions and supply chain audits from various countries and discussed measures to alleviate the burden on businesses. This is in response to the EU's CBAM, which came into full effect on January 1 of this year, targeting carbon-intensive products such as steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen. The need for supply chain cooperation has expanded beyond securing quantities of critical minerals and energy to include carbon emissions calculations and responses to supply chain regulations.
Kim Jang-hee stated, "In a situation where uncertainties in the global supply chain persist, the importance of cooperation between countries with similar industrial structures is increasing. We will strive to develop the SCPA into a communication channel that produces concrete results in our supply chain cooperation."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.