Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA Discuss 'Key Item Monitoring and Logistics Issue Solutions' at Global Supply Chain Review Meeting

Global Supply Chain Inspection Meeting Held via Video Conference on the 9th

Semiconductors, Secondary Batteries, and 20 Priority Management Items: Weekly Reporting on China Market Trends
"Strategic Cooperation to be Promoted by Selecting Supply Chain Solidarity and Cooperation Partner Countries"

Yeo Han-gu, Director General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (File photo)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] On the 9th, Ye Han-gu, Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Yoo Jung-yeol, President of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), will hold a 'Global Supply Chain Review Meeting' via video conference with overseas commercial attach?s from major countries and KOTRA trade center heads in attendance.

At the meeting, they will review the status of securing alternative import sources for urea (liquid) and discuss countermeasures for potential supply disruptions of key items and bottlenecks in the global supply chain such as logistics difficulties.

Regarding urea, in China, through diplomatic efforts, 16,800 tons out of the contracted 18,700 tons have passed export inspections, and the government is supporting logistics and customs clearance to ensure the rapid arrival of these volumes domestically. Additionally, through the 'Urea Alliance,' a public-private joint task force for diversifying urea imports, along with local diplomatic missions and KOTRA, approximately 66,000 tons of urea and about 9.22 million liters of automotive urea solution have been secured from over 10 countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Russia.

An early warning system (EWS) has been activated, and overseas market trends for key items have also been reviewed. First, local diplomatic missions and trade centers will prepare 'Key Item Management Cards' for 20 priority management items, including semiconductors and secondary batteries, which have high dependence on China as a core material for leading industries and have seen sharp price increases this year. These cards will be reported weekly to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. They will include information on prices, supply and demand, local industry trends, export country government policies, status of major domestic importers, and notable issues. In addition, in countries other than China, in-depth market research on production capacity and supply-demand trends for the 20 priority management items will be conducted.

The government expects that global logistics difficulties caused by congestion at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in the U.S., inland transportation bottlenecks, and rising maritime freight rates will continue until next year. Accordingly, the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, and others are promoting measures such as expanding logistics information provision, offering incentives for increased international arrivals, and minimizing port congestion to alleviate logistics difficulties.

Due to economic activity suspensions caused by COVID-19 and disruptions in the global supply chain, governments worldwide are strengthening bilateral and multilateral efforts to enhance supply chain stability and resilience. Our government is discussing plans to expand the supply chain cooperation network by utilizing the existing free trade agreement (FTA) network with 57 countries and selecting additional countries that require strategic supply chain solidarity.

Ye Han-gu, Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "To continue the historic export achievements made this year, efforts to resolve global supply chain risks are paramount. We plan to promote strategic cooperation by selecting supply chain solidarity and cooperation partner countries and actively consider support measures in trade cooperation, such as utilizing existing systems like FTAs."