Industry ministry widens grounds for restricting exports and imports

The industry ministry said Tuesday that the Cabinet approved an enforcement decree under the Foreign Trade Act broadening the grounds on which South Korea may restrict exports and imports, with the new rules taking effect Oct. 22.

The revision, which implements an amendment to the Foreign Trade Act passed in April, adds threats to national security, the protection of personal and corporate information, the protection of public morals and the protection of national treasures to the existing grounds for restricting trade. Those previously covered only war, armed conflict, natural disaster, unfair discrimination by a trading partner and the maintenance of international peace.

The decree also sets out how the government will investigate before imposing such restrictions, including the scope and method of those investigations and procedures for seeking expert advice and gathering views from interested parties. Detailed operational matters will be set out in a separate notice, to be issued as the trade restrictions notice and take effect alongside the decree on Oct. 22.

The revision specifies the statistical data the government may request from the Korea Customs Service to help small and medium-sized companies make use of trade agreements. The data covered include the value of exports and imports eligible for preferential tariff treatment, the value that actually received it and the utilisation rate of those tariff benefits.

The decree also establishes the legal status and oversight of organisations designated to support the use of trade agreements, setting the requirements and procedures for designation and the grounds for revoking it where an organisation persistently fails to meet those requirements or performs its duties in a clearly improper manner. A hearing will be held before any such designation is revoked.