SEOUL, October 08 (AJP) - South Korea joined the United States, European Union, Japan and 11 other economies in agreeing to create five sector-specific platforms to tackle structural industrial overcapacity after a broader G20 effort failed to reach consensus, the Industry Ministry said Thursday.
The platforms will initially cover automobiles and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors and solar panels. Participants will examine excess capacity in each sector, assess its impact on industries and markets and discuss possible responses.
The agreement was announced Wednesday on the sidelines of the OECD Trade Committee in Paris. The 15 participants also include Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Türkiye and Britain.
The move follows the G20 trade ministers' meeting in Milwaukee from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, where structural excess capacity was a major agenda item but members failed to agree on a common course of action. South Korea argued at the meeting that overcapacity should be addressed through market principles, rules-based trade remedies and international cooperation.
The 15 participants said structural overcapacity can distort prices and production, discourage market-based investment and weaken competition. They also called on countries to end non-market policies and practices that sustain excess production.
Officials plan to meet at the technical level before December to set operating rules for the five platforms, share non-confidential data and identify gaps in information on excess capacity and its industrial impact.
The platforms will be open to countries outside the OECD as well. The joint statement did not identify any particular country as the source of excess capacity.
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