Government officials from Korea, the United States, and Japan have met and agreed to strengthen trilateral cooperation to respond to the changing global environment, including supply chain instability and export controls.
The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on Feb. 22 that it held the first meeting of the Trilateral Trade and Industry Export Control Dialogue with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.
In attendance were Korean Trade and Security Policy Officer Kang Gam-chan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Rozman Kendler, and Katsuro Igari, director-general of the Trade Control Department at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, who each represented their respective countries.
The export control dialogue is part of an industry ministerial initiative launched in August of last year following a trilateral summit among Korea, the United States, and Japan at Camp David in the United States.
At the meeting, the three representatives agreed on the need to harmonize export controls regarding Russia and build cooperation with Southeast Asian countries. They also pledged to cooperate on controls on key and emerging technologies.
“Cooperation among the three countries is important in responding to changing global environments,” Kang said, “We must strengthen export control cooperation with ASEAN countries to prevent the diversion of dual-use items and maintain international peace.”
“Working with friendly countries that share common values and security outlooks on multilateral export controls is always a top priority for the Bureau of Industry and Security,” Kendler said.
“The first trilateral meeting deepened the three countries’ understanding of export controls,” Igari said.