South Korea Proposes "Discussion on Tariff Reduction for Environmental Goods and Opening Environmental Markets" to WTO

First Meeting of the WTO Trade and Environmental Sustainability Committee

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] As environmental issues rapidly emerge in the global trade market, the government has submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to strengthen discussions related to tariff reductions on environmental goods and the opening of environmental markets.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 8th that it submitted this proposal, which centers on these points, and led related discussions at the WTO's first official meeting of the 'Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD)' held via video conference on the 5th.

Our proposal focuses on ▲ tariff reductions on environmental goods ▲ additional opening of environmental service markets ▲ strengthening WTO-level review and consultations on environmental-related measures. Korea took the lead in drafting the proposal, with Australia and Singapore participating as co-sponsors. Other participating countries such as Canada, Chile, and the United Kingdom evaluated that it contributes to advancing WTO-level discussions on environmental issues that have recently surged, including climate change response and carbon neutrality.

The government expects that if discussions within the WTO progress based on this proposal, it will enhance the transparency and predictability of countries' environmental measures, thereby contributing to the global response to climate change and environmental issues. It also anticipates that trade liberalization of environmental goods and services will support Korean companies' entry into overseas environmental markets and greatly help strengthen competitiveness by promoting the development of eco-friendly technologies and the transition to eco-friendly systems.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "In the future, we will actively participate in environmental issues through various multilateral cooperation channels such as WTO TESSD, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Group of Twenty (G20), and propose our positions to lead discussions."