Japan puts South Korea back on "white list"

On June 27, Japan announced its decision to put South Korea back on its "white list" of trusted trading partners, marking the end of a four-year trade dispute between the two countries, the latest move to improve bilateral economic relations.

Japan's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it has revised regulations to return South Korea to Group A (a group of trusted trade partners), allowing Seoul to enjoy the export incentives it enjoyed before 2019. This decision will take effect from July 21.

Accordingly, with the re-designation of Korea to the “White List”, the time for reviewing export licenses for domestic companies exporting strategic materials to Korea has been reduced from 2-3 months to about 1 week.

Earlier, in 2019, Japan downgraded South Korea to Group B, after imposing export restrictions on three strategic materials from South Korea, including fluorinated polyimide, photoresists and hydrogen fluoride for the production of semiconductors and displays. The move was believed to be in response to an earlier ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court ordering two Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula (1910 - 1945).

In March, the two sides pledged to restore trade relations after South Korea announced plans to compensate forced labor victims without asking Japan to contribute.

Also in March, Tokyo lifted export restrictions on Seoul after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to work together to improve bilateral ties during talks between the two leaders in Tokyo. Then, in April, South Korea reinstated Japan as a trusted trading partner.

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy welcomed Japan's decision in a statement and stressed that it will closely cooperate with Tokyo to promote bilateral and multilateral trade issues.

According to a report from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry released in March, South Korea is expected to increase its exports to Japan by $2.69 billion, bringing exports back to the levels of 2017 and 2018 – the time before Japan imposed export restrictions on the country.

Meanwhile, South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho is scheduled to meet his Japanese counterpart on June 29 to discuss cooperation issues in the fields of finance and trade.

Communist Party of Vietnam Electronic Newspaper

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