Gwangju Chamber of Commerce Leads Efforts to Resolve Export Companies' Difficulties

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] The Gwangju Regional FTA Utilization Support Center, operated by the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, announced on the 25th that it is stationing four personnel, including two employees and two customs brokers, to minimize damage to local export-import companies caused by COVID-19. The center operates services such as issuing certificates of origin, free consultations on export-import procedures, on-site consulting, and an FTA One-Stop consultation desk.

In particular, the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce has been issuing COVID-19 related certificates to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing penalties due to shipment delays caused by failure to meet initial delivery deadlines amid the COVID-19 impact. This has helped these companies receive exemptions of up to 100 million KRW, greatly assisting local export-import companies and receiving strong positive responses.

According to the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce, company A, a specialized machine tool manufacturer located in Pyeongdong Industrial Complex, signed export contracts with Russia and Sweden in December last year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, issues such as the supply of key raw materials arose, causing the company to miss the initial delivery deadline in June. Overseas buyers demanded penalties of 5% from Russia and 10% from Sweden based on the contract terms.

The Gwangju Chamber of Commerce issued a COVID-19 certificate to company A at the end of last month, stating that "company A is a member of the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce, and the delivery delay was not due to the company's fault but caused by production disruptions and delivery delays resulting from key raw material supply issues due to COVID-19." As a result, company A was exempted from penalties amounting to 100 million KRW and recently completed the export of machine tools to Russia and Sweden.

The CEO of company A said, "After much hardship, our employees managed to secure our first European export contract, but when the overseas buyers demanded penalties due to delivery delays, we felt very helpless. The Gwangju Chamber of Commerce took the lead in resolving our difficulties, which was very reassuring."

A representative of the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce stated, "As protectionism prioritizing national interests strengthens in the rapidly changing global market, there are cases where local export-import companies in Gwangju suffer from unreasonable demands by overseas buyers." He added, "We will strengthen the functions and roles of the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce FTA Utilization Support Center to minimize damage to local export-import companies."