KOTRA vows to be more vigilant about trade policies of foreign countries

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Tue, September 26, 2023 | 07:19

Companies

KOTRA vows to be more vigilant about trade policies of foreign countries

Posted : 2023-04-11 15:21

Updated : 2023-04-12 11:39

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) CEO Yu Jeoung-yeol speaks during a press conference at a restaurant in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of KOTRA

By Park Jae-hyuk

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) promised on Tuesday that it will preemptively collect information about each country's trade policies and market trends, as part of efforts to revitalize Korea's export trade.

"As the international trade environment has changed rapidly … it has been more important for our offices in other countries to be quicker in collecting information," KOTRA CEO Yu Jeoung-yeol said at Tuesday's press conference. "Last year, we set up economic and trade cooperation desks in four regions, in order to enhance our abilities to collect information and share the information with Korean companies."

His remarks came in an apparent response to criticism leveled last year against its Washington office's insufficient preparedness for the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

At that time, lawmakers of both ruling and opposition parties criticized KOTRA for causing the Korean government to have a belated response regarding its countermeasures against the U.S.' protectionist trade policies. In addition, the agency was criticized for being negligent in its duty to strengthen interpersonal networks with U.S. government officials over the past three years.

During the press conference, the KOTRA CEO emphasized that the agency will improve its ability to cope with major global issues, so as to establish a foothold for more stable exports.

In order to boost Korea's exports as soon as possible, KOTRA also plans to spend 70 percent of its marketing budget during the first half of this year, while organizing more meetings with foreign buyers.

"More than 400 foreign buyers and over 1,500 Korean companies will participate in the 2023 Boom-up Korea, a two-day export conference to be held at COEX in Seoul from Wednesday," Yu said.

The KOTRA CEO added that the agency will promote Busan's bid to host World Expo 2030, by opening exhibition booths and distributing brochures at various export conferences. KOTRA is also set to send business delegations to major countries during the first half of this year, in order to ask for international support for Busan's bid.

In response to a question about the most promising markets for Korean exporters, he picked the Middle East, Indonesia, Mexico and India.

Mentioning his visit to Japan last week, the CEO also said that Korean companies will strengthen ties with their Japanese partners once again in various sectors, including digitization and carbon neutrality.

pjh@koreatimes.co.kr