Yun Seok-Yeol’s Elected Economic and Security-oriented Trade Policy Announcement… Expansion of the ROK-U.S. alliance and international cooperation

Strengthening the ‘comprehensive strategic alliance’ with the US… Participation in major trade agreements such as CPTPP and IPEF
‘Limited cooperation’ with China… Diversification of cooperative regions and focus on digital commerce are expected

With the election of Candidate Seok-Yeol Yoon as the 20th President of the People’s Power on the 10th, policies to strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance and expand international cooperation to respond to ‘economic security’ in the trade field are expected to be pursued in earnest.

During the election process, President-elect Yoon defined the current international environment as the ‘Era of Economic Security’, strengthened the Korea-US alliance in the high-tech field, and expanded international cooperation, including participation in major global trade agreements, to secure a stable supply chain for key raw materials and components. said he would

Although a certain level of economic cooperation with China is inevitable, he expressed a position to reduce dependence.

In a situation where the U.S. and China are competing for supremacy, they put more weight on cooperation with the United States.

President-elect Yoon also presented the idea of ​​establishing a cooperative network with future markets that will replace China, such as Southeast Asia and India, and actively engaging in international discussions regarding the enactment of digital trade rules.

◇ Strengthen strategic alliance with the United States and participate in major trade agreements for economic security
President-elect Yoon made a pledge to rebuild the ROK-US alliance and strengthen the ‘comprehensive strategic alliance’ in response to intensifying competition between the US and China and the economic security era brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The goal is to expand and deepen the scope of the Korea-US economic alliance to “new frontiers” (new frontiers) such as new technologies, global supply chains, space, cyber, and nuclear reactors.

President-elect Yoon also suggested that he would pursue ‘open cooperation’ with relevant countries in the region in the same context as the reconstruction of the alliance.

As part of that, the plan is to participate in the Vaccines, Climate Change and New Technology Working Group under Quad, a consultative body of four countries, the US, Japan, Australia, and India, and seek formal membership in the future.

In addition, President-elect Yoon announced that he would promote international cooperation by leveraging Korea’s core manufacturing technologies such as semiconductors and batteries as leverage in a situation where major countries are moving to reorganize their existing global supply chains to secure key strategic materials and advanced technologies. .

Specifically, the plan is to cooperate with the United States, Japan, and European countries that have a lot of source technology, such as promoting the economy and security 2+2 ministerial meeting with the United States and the Korea-US-Japan economy and security 2+2+2 ministerial meeting.

For key economic partner countries, it plans to activate the ‘economic strategy dialogue’ between the leaders to discuss ways to promote entry into trade, investment, and infrastructure business, and to operate a high-level special envoy system.

Similarly, from the perspective of economic security, President-elect Yoon made a pledge to promote major regional trade agreements so that Korean companies can occupy an advantageous position in fields such as global supply chains and digital trade.

In addition to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which took effect on the 1st of last month, the plan is to participate in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

CPTPP is a ‘mega-free trade agreement’ (CPTPP) that accounts for 15% of global trade, and 11 countries including Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru, and Singapore are members.

Korea aims to submit an application for membership in April, and the government is currently undergoing related procedures.

IPEF is a comprehensive economic cooperation initiative for common prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region announced by US President Joe Biden in October last year.

The US government puts labor standards, digital trade, and eco-friendliness on its core agenda, and is expected to induce the participation of RCEP member states with China’s great influence.

President-elect Yun’s trade policy with China is summarized as ‘limited cooperation’.

As the number one trading partner and major stakeholder, it is necessary to maintain and develop a certain level of economic cooperation with China, but the basic position is that dependence should be reduced.

In this context, the keynote is to activate necessary economic cooperation with China, such as negotiations on the supply and demand of strategic materials, but to cooperate in building an alliance front with the United States to contain China.

Quad, in which President-elect Yoon said that he would gradually review official membership, is a consultative body that is considered to be aimed at keeping China in check.

China has criticized Quad as “a small group that is closed and exclusively targeting other countries.”

Analysts say that the IPEF also has a strong economic solidarity on the ‘anti-China front’ to keep China in check.

◇ Diversification of target regions and strengthening of digital trade strategy
President-elect Yoon made it clear that he would break away from the past foreign strategy that focused on bilateral diplomacy with major countries, diversify cooperation target areas in line with the global status of the world’s 10th largest economy, and actively engage in the establishment of multilateral and small-scale cooperation networks. .

In particular, in accordance with the idea of ​​reducing economic dependence on China, it has emphasized the need to expand cooperation with Southeast Asia and India, the future markets that will replace China.

Specifically, President-elect Yoon decided to promote the ‘Korea-ASEAN ABCD Strategy’ in the context of the ASEAN-Korea ‘Co-prosperity Solidarity Initiative’.

ABCD stands for ▲ vitalization of human capital exchange ▲ promotion of health and medical cooperation ▲ realization of two-way cultural exchange ▲ realization of digital Asia.

In addition, he presented the idea of ​​establishing an effective regional response system once morest the spread of new infectious diseases and leading the expansion of digital infrastructure in accordance with the development of information and communication technology (ICT) to establish an ‘East Asian wide-area community’.

They decided to establish a ‘value diplomacy partnership’ with European countries to establish international norms and promote human rights, and to significantly expand cooperation in new industries, climate change response, and advanced science and technology fields.

In the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia, it plans to promote customized cooperation programs for each country and region by focusing on securing resource and energy supply chains, expanding trade and consumption markets, and discovering new development demands.

President-elect Yoon also presented the idea of ​​strengthening the digital trade strategy to actively respond to the recent changes in the trade environment, where the importance of digital trade is growing.

In the current situation in which digital trade rules at the bilateral and regional levels are being strengthened amid the sluggish World Trade Organization (WTO) e-commerce negotiations, Korea will move away from a passive attitude and strategically lead and respond to digital trade agreements.

President-elect Yoon plans to establish and promote a customized digital trade agreement strategy for regions and countries with high growth potential, such as India, New Southern, New Northern, and Africa.

In addition, while leading the WTO e-commerce negotiations, it will focus on promoting policies to create a foundation for strengthening the competitiveness of the domestic industry, such as reorganizing related systems and nurturing practical talents in line with the newly established digital trade order.

In the process of discussing the enactment of digital trade rules among major competitors such as the United States, China, and Japan, they are in a position to review strategic responses to expand national interests.

The Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) is one of the digital trade agreements that the government is currently pursuing to join.

It is the second major digital trade agreement following the Digital Partnership Agreement (DPA) with Singapore concluded in December last year.

The DEPA was signed in June 2020 by Singapore, New Zealand, and Chile to establish key digital commerce norms and strengthen cooperation.

Korea officially expressed its intention to join the DEPA in September last year and is in the process of joining the DEPA.

/yunhap news