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Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources, departs for the United States through Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport on Sept. 1. / Yonhap

Minister of Trade, Industry and Resource Kim Jung-kwan met senior European Union officials to discuss key trade and industrial issues, including the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), and asked that close Korea-EU supply chain and industrial cooperation be sufficiently reflected in the legislation.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resource said on Sept. 9 that Kim held talks with Stephane Sejourne, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.

During the meeting, Kim discussed major industrial and economic issues and areas of cooperation between the two sides, including the Industrial Accelerator Act, the Korea-EU Competitiveness Partnership and the High-Level Economic Dialogue.

Kim also separately met Dirk Gotink, a member of the European Parliament, and conveyed South Korea’s position on the Industrial Accelerator Act currently under discussion in the European Parliament. He asked for cooperation to ensure that the close supply chain and industrial ties between South Korea and the EU are taken into account during the legislative process.

Kim stressed that South Korea and the EU, which share a commitment to free trade and a rules-based international order, should further strengthen cooperation as the global economic environment changes rapidly amid geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain restructuring and intensifying technological competition.

In particular, he proposed expanding cooperation to strengthen supply chain stability and industrial competitiveness by combining South Korea’s manufacturing strengths in advanced industries such as semiconductors and batteries with the EU’s technological and market capabilities.

Regarding the Industrial Accelerator Act, Kim raised concerns over moves during recent EU Council discussions to strengthen requirements for locally produced goods. He said such requirements should not become unnecessary restrictions on partner countries such as South Korea that have built close supply chain and industrial cooperation with the EU.

Kim emphasized that South Korea is not seeking exceptional preferential treatment for a specific country, but rather that the EU’s principle of partner-country equivalence should be applied predictably and consistently to trusted free trade agreement partners such as South Korea.

He also asked the European Commission and European Parliament to ensure that the supply chain and industrial cooperation the two sides have built in key sectors such as steel, automobiles and nuclear power are adequately reflected in the legislation.

The two sides also discussed follow-up measures to the Korea-EU Competitiveness Partnership and High-Level Economic Dialogue agreed at the Korea-EU summit in June.

Kim proposed swiftly establishing an implementation framework so that the Competitiveness Partnership, which covers supply chains, advanced technologies and innovation, can lead to concrete cooperation projects and tangible results.

He also proposed discussing detailed arrangements with a view to holding the first High-Level Economic Dialogue in the first half of next year to deepen cooperation in trade, industry and economic security.

“South Korea and the EU are important partners that can jointly contribute to global supply chain stability and stronger industrial competitiveness based on their complementary strengths,” Kim said. “I hope this visit will serve as an opportunity to fully convey our position on key issues such as the Industrial Accelerator Act to the European Commission and European Parliament, while also fleshing out new cooperation frameworks such as the Competitiveness Partnership and High-Level Economic Dialogue to generate tangible results across a wide range of industries.”

Meanwhile, Kim is scheduled to visit the United States from Sept. 10 to 12 after completing his trip to France. He is expected to discuss detailed terms of South Korean investment projects in the US that are nearing the final stage.

                                                                                                            Kim Jeong-gyu