Interview in Brussels... “Korea-EU, mutually balanced trade growth based on FTA”
“Persuading companies and one team to directly convey the voices of Korean companies entering Europe”
“There is a wide consensus that ‘Korea is a trustworthy partner’… we will find an amicable agreement.”
(Brussels = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hyun Yoon-kyung = "We are trying to respond to the EU's protectionist stance by emphasizing that the 15-year-old FTA between the two sides has served as a growth accelerator by increasing the volume of trade with each other."
Park Jeong-seong, head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, visited Brussels, where the EU headquarters is located, for the first time since taking office last August, as the European Union (EU), Korea's third-largest export partner after China and the United States, has recently strengthened its protectionist stance and there are growing signs that sparks will fall on Korean companies.
Director Park stayed for 3 days and 2 nights until the 12th (local time) and met with dozens of high-ranking EU trade officials, including EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Ševčovic and members of the European Parliament, conveying our concerns about the EU increasing trade barriers and requesting that Korea be treated as befits a country that has signed an FTA.
Yonhap News met Director Park, who has taken aggressive action against the EU and the European Parliament, in Brussels and heard about the position of the EU trade authorities during this visit and the Korean government's response strategy to counter the EU's trend toward protectionist trade.
In the interview, Director Park said that, above all, he focused on clearly highlighting how well the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which came into effect in 2011 in response to the EU's protectionist stance, is playing the role of a mechanism to accelerate the mutual growth of trade between the two sides.
He also said that he strongly requested that the EU recognize Korea as a 'trustworthy partner' and treat it without discrimination in the process of legislating the Industrial Acceleration Act (IAA), which the EU is pursuing with the goal of expanding regional production in strategic industries such as steel, automobiles, and batteries.
The following is a Q&A with Director Park.
-- As the EU continues to raise trade barriers in each field, the worries of Korean industries that have entered the European market are deepening. What points did you emphasize to persuade high-ranking officials of the European Parliament and Commission?
▲ It has been 15 years since the Korea-EU FTA was launched, and both sides have consistently said that they have grown together during that period. During this period, the amount of trade in goods between the two sides doubled, the amount of trade in services tripled, and Korea's investment in the EU also quadrupled. What is noteworthy is that the trade relationship between the two sides has not been one-sided but has remained very balanced. The reason behind the EU's promotion of IAA is that it is facing a deficit of 1 billion euros per day with China, but it has grown together with Korea through FTA. He said that the FTA has worked really well for 15 years, and that we should think about deepening this good framework and not necessarily apply a new law called IAA to Korea.
-- If the IAA goes into effect, a significant blow is expected to our main businesses, including automobiles, batteries, steel, nuclear power plants, and energy equipment. What are the countermeasures?
▲ Under the IAA, if a trading partner is considered a ‘trustworthy partner’, they can receive preferential treatment in public procurement, government-supported industries, etc., so they are requesting that Korea be recognized as a trusted partner of the EU so that it is not discriminated against. We continue to remind ourselves of the consistent contribution our industry has made to the growth and economic security of the EU.
-- What is the response within the EU to such demands?
▲ Everyone acknowledges that Korea is a ‘trustworthy partner.’ However, as political demands to keep China in check are erupting from member states, the EU is in a desperate situation where it is losing competitiveness across industries, and discussions on various opinions are ongoing at the level of the European Parliament and individual EU member states, it is expected that coordination will take some more time.
-- During your first visit as Head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters, you had a hectic schedule, meeting dozens of members of the European Parliament and high-ranking officials of the Commission.
▲ Although people who influence EU trade regulations are vaguely aware of the Korea-EU FTA, there seems to be little awareness of how well this system has worked so far. I think it is time to fully explain these points and persuade them so that they can be reflected in the discussion for drafting the bill. We plan to continuously strengthen our outreach to EU policymakers. In fact, before the artificial device called IAA was created, Korea and the EU had developed investment and trade to the point where companies voluntarily linked and integrated their supply chains through FTA. In this situation, we are emphasizing that if we discriminate against certain products based on whether they are manufactured in Korea or the EU, we cannot make products with global competitiveness, and we believe that we have secured a certain degree of consensus.
-- In this interview with 24 European lawmakers, not only trade officials but also officials from our major companies were accompanied. It seems unusual.
▲ I think such an approach is necessary for trade. The EU must also listen directly to the voices of Korean companies that are actually investing in Europe and creating jobs and what the practical difficulties are in order to reflect them in their policies.
-- There is also criticism that FTAs will become useless if the EU raises trade barriers even for partners with which it has concluded FTAs. If, despite our government's efforts, the EU's protectionist measures inevitably take a toll on Korean companies, do you consider plans to respond strongly to the EU, such as filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
▲ I don’t think there’s a need to make that assumption yet. As of now, almost everyone agrees that the EU believes that Korea is a trustworthy partner, so it would be more important to use more political wisdom to resolve the issue smoothly.
