Against Protectionism
South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy Joo Hwang-wan said at the Informal WTO Ministerial Gathering in Davos, Switzerland on January 20 (local time) that the judicial function of the WTO should be strengthened for an effective response to trade protectionism. “Dispute settlement procedures in the WTO should be faster and more efficient based on organizational expansion while guidelines are created for international e-commerce along with standard regulatory practices against technical barriers to trade,” he went on to say.
The gathering was attended by the trade ministers of 29 WTO member countries, the Secretary General of the WTO, the Chairman of the General Council of the WTO, etc. There, the South Korean minister asked his Mexican counterpart to have more communication with South Korean enterprises in Mexico in view of the current situation in which a NAFTA renegotiation is likely to occur in the near future.
The two ministers agreed with each other on information sharing and cooperation regarding the NAFTA. To this end, the South Korean and Mexican governments are to discuss the resumption of negotiations for their free trade deal at the high-level talks scheduled for next month.