Jungjingong Provides Emergency Funding to FTA-Affected Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Small and Medium Business Corporation announced on the 20th that they are implementing a trade adjustment support project for trade-affected companies struggling due to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) implementation.

The trade adjustment support project is a policy that provides policy fund loans and consulting to small and medium enterprises that have suffered or are certain to suffer damage due to increased imports following the FTA.

The support targets trade-affected companies, specifically those in manufacturing and service industries with more than two years of business experience, where damage has been confirmed due to increased domestic inflow of imported items from FTA partner countries.

The trade adjustment support fund offers a fixed interest rate of 2.0%. The loan period is up to 10 years (with a 5-year grace period) for facility funds, and up to 6 years (with a 3-year grace period) for operating funds. The loan limit is up to 6 billion KRW per company, with an annual operating fund limit of up to 500 million KRW.