2 days ago
KITA steps up EU outreach, calls for regulatory easing
Yoon Jin-sik, chair of the Korea International Trade Association, stepped up trade outreach activities with key European Union officials, conveying the challenges Korean companies face due to trade and regulatory hurdles.
During Yoon's visit to Brussels from Friday to Tuesday, he held meetings with several senior officials at the European Parliament and the European Commission, including Cesar Luena, chair of the delegations for relations with the Korean Peninsula, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne of committee on international trade, Dan Barna of the committee on foreign affairs and Maria Martin-Prat, deputy director general of the directorate general for trade at the European Commission.
Yoon expressed concerns over the EU's moves to tighten internal market protections in response to recent US tariff policies, urging that Korean companies, which are key contributors to core EU industries, receive equal treatment as EU-based firms, according to KITA.
He also delivered a position paper to the European Commission authorities, pointing out difficulties Korean companies face under the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, despite the expectation that the second Ursula von der Leyen administration may ease trade-related regulations. Yoon pointed out difficulties with carbon emissions verification and requested the expansion of authorized verifiers, as well as the recognition of carbon emissions verification exports issued by Korean institutions.
Under the CBAM, the EU's carbon tax on imported goods, companies importing carbon-intensive products into the EU have to purchase and submit certificates starting in 2026. Under this rule, companies have to receive verification by an external body on their emissions data.
KITA's position paper emphasized that many Korean firms are expressing difficulties due to a limited number of verification bodies and excessively high costs. Some EU-based agencies have demanded tens of millions of won from Korean firms for emissions verification.
In response, Martin-Prat said the EU would pay more attention to reducing regulatory and nontariff barriers for Korean companies operating in the region, according to KITA.
KITA also organized the first-ever EU-Korea Networking Day, co-hosted with the Korean Embassy in Belgium and the EU on Tuesday. The event drew over 150 attendees, including EU policymakers and Korean business leaders, to discuss economic cooperation.
'With the global trade environment facing upheaval, no country or economic zone can respond to these challenges alone,' Yoon was quoted as saying. 'As cooperation between like-minded allies, such as Korea and the EU, becomes even more important, we will actively pursue trade support activities in Europe.'
