The European Union's regulations on battery recycling and packaging, along with China's medical device management system, are emerging as new burdens for domestic exporters. In response, the South Korean government has initiated action through the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has raised concerns about regulations that could impact market access for key export items such as batteries, semiconductors, steel, and petrochemicals, requesting improvements through bilateral discussions.
On November 13, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Technology and Standards and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety attended the third WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee meeting, where they engaged in multilateral and bilateral negotiations to alleviate export difficulties faced by domestic companies due to foreign technical regulations.
Technical barriers to trade refer to national technical regulations, standards, and certification systems that act as unnecessary obstacles to international trade. Even regulations aimed at safety and environmental protection can impose additional costs on exporters if the standards and certification processes differ from country to country.
During the committee meeting, the South Korean government raised specific trade issues regarding the EU's battery regulation, which includes recycling content calculation mandates, packaging and packaging waste regulations, single-use plastics directives, and eco-design regulations. Specific trade issues are procedures through which WTO member countries formally express concerns about another country's technical regulations and request explanations or improvements.
The EU regulations raised could significantly affect South Korea's exports in key industries such as batteries, semiconductors, petrochemicals, and steel. Notably, regarding the EU's packaging and packaging waste regulations, the South Korean government previously emphasized the unique characteristics of semiconductor packaging materials at earlier WTO TBT meetings.
Semiconductor packaging must protect products from electrostatic discharge and contamination from fine particles, making it difficult to apply the same recycling standards as general packaging. The government has requested that these concerns be communicated and that related obligations be exempted.
The government also raised specific trade issues regarding China's medical device supervision regulations, believing that technical regulations related to medical devices could hinder domestic companies' entry into the Chinese market.
Additionally, the government supported concerns raised by other member countries regarding Indonesia's national certification (SNI) regulations for audio and video products, conveying the opinions of the domestic industry.
In bilateral consultations with individual countries, the government discussed concerns about technical regulations that could impact exporters, including amendments to India's producer responsibility regulations for automobiles.
In July, during the second WTO TBT Committee meeting, the government had already raised specific trade issues regarding eight foreign technical regulations, including the EU's packaging regulations and single-use plastics directives. The ongoing discussions of some regulations at this meeting highlight that addressing foreign environmental and technical regulations remains a persistent trade issue for South Korea's key industries.
Kim Gyu-sung, head of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, stated, "As countries increasingly use technical regulations to protect and promote their domestic industries, this has become a new burden for our exporters. We will actively respond to alleviate the difficulties faced by exporters due to foreign technical regulations."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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