(2nd LD) S. Korea to join WTO e-commerce talks

All News 17:06 April 08, 2019

(ATTN: UPDATES with more comments by finance minister)

SEJONG, April 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday that it will participate in upcoming negotiations on growing electronic commerce that will involve nearly half of the World Trade Organization members.

Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, made the announcement in a meeting with relevant ministers in Sejong, an administrative hub located 130 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Hong Nam-ki (2nd from L), the minister of economy and finance, speaks in a meeting with economy-related ministers in Sejong, an administrative hub located 130 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on April 8, 2019. This photo was provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. (Yonhap)

He said the talks are likely to take place in May or June. He did not provide any further details.

Earlier this year, 76 out of the WTO's 164 members announced their intention to start negotiations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce.

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said earlier this month that e-commerce can unleash great potential, but there needs to be awareness of the challenges involved in areas such as connectivity and infrastructure.

"Without the right framework in place, there is a clear risk that big players will increasingly dominate, leaving smaller businesses behind," Azevedo said at a session on digital trade and e-commerce on April 1.

A WTO study found that by lowering costs and increasing productivity, digital technologies could boost trade by up to 34 percent by 2030, according to the WTO.

In 2017, 71 WTO member states signed a joint statement to explore further work on e-commerce.

Also Monday, Hong said the government will draw up an extra budget and take other measures to boost the economy, noting pre-emptive measures are more important than ever before against downside risks to the global economy.

Hong said it would be inevitable for the South Korean government to issue deficit-covering bonds to finance an extra budget, which is set to be submitted to the parliament later this month.

Hong said he expects South Korea's exports to gradually improve in the second half, but Seoul could face challenges in boosting exports.

"We will come up with measures to innovate key industries, such as shipbuilding, cars and displays, and we will diversify export items and regions for a quick recovery of exports," Hong said.

South Korea's exports declined 8.2 percent in March from a year earlier, marking the fourth straight month that outbound shipments have fallen.

Hong also said South Korea will make efforts to forge a free trade deal with Britain to ensure there is no vacuum in bilateral trade amid lingering uncertainties over London's departure from the European Union.

South Korean exports to Britain came to US$6.4 billion, and its imports from Britain stood at $6.8 billion in 2018, according to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy.

South Korea has clinched a series of free trade deals with major trading partners, including the United States, the European Union and China, as well as Chile, Peru and Colombia, in recent years as part of its efforts to boost growth in the country's export-driven economy.

Hong also said Norway's sovereign wealth fund's plan to sell South Korean treasury bonds is not something that can cause concern, adding that the fund made public its intention in 2017.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund holds South Korean treasury bonds worth 5.1 trillion won ($4.4 billion), accounting for 0.9 percent of all South Korean treasury bonds, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.