Jung In-kyo, Director General of Trade Negotiations, "Restoring the Multilateral Trade System is Important, We Will Achieve Results"

Jung In-kyo, Director General for Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jung In-kyo, Head of the Trade Negotiations Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, held the 8th Multilateral Trade Strategy Review Meeting on the 29th.

The meeting was held in preparation for the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, scheduled to take place from the 26th of next month. It reviewed the discussion trends and response measures on key agenda items such as WTO reform, agriculture, fisheries subsidies, investment facilitation, extension of duty-free practices on electronic transmissions, and domestic regulation of services.

In particular, WTO reform is expected to be a core agenda item at this Ministerial Conference. The WTO is currently conducting informal reform discussions aiming to normalize the dispute settlement system by the end of this year. Institutional reforms to strengthen WTO functions and enhancement of review mechanisms to respond to global trade challenges, including the spread of national industrial policies and climate and environmental measures, are also under consideration.

Jung In-kyo, Head of the Trade Negotiations Office, emphasized, “In a situation where concerns about the contraction and fragmentation of world trade continue, the recovery of the multilateral trading system is important for a stable export and investment environment for our companies,” adding, “We will actively participate in discussions and respond together with relevant ministries to achieve results.”