China to raise barriers against Korean products
 
SEOUL - China, which is strengthening its trade barriers against South Korean exports, is attempting to include information technology as well as traditional products, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said. KITA, in a report on Chinese trade walls, urged Korean exporters to be ready with countermeasures, as China will raise the barriers as soon as the reorganization of its trade structure is completed.

The number of South Korean products either placed under China's trade restriction measures or about to be placed under it totaled 16, more than Japan's 11 and the United States' eight. In 2000, there were three cases, which grew to five the following year and nine last year, indicating a steady trend. Since China began launching anti-dumping probes against foreign goods in 1997, Sout Korea has been involved in 17 cases out of the 21 cases instituted, the largest number among countries trading with China. Last year, South Korean products were involved in eight of the nine anti-dumping cases China launched.

China has expanded the number of products targeted for its trade barriers from traditional products such as steel, petrochemical and papers to high-tech products. China is considering to move onto anti-dumping probes on fiber-optic products in the first quarter this year and move ahead to include mobile phones and cars, which are about to become South Korea's main export products to China.

During the National People's Congress session in March, China plans to merge its external trade ministry with the national economic trade council to create a body similar to the US Trade Representative Office in an effort to strengthen its trade organization. Korean products, which have been subjected to China's import restriction measures, have seen their exports to China reduced substantially due to additional tariffs with their market share in China plummeting fast. KITA called for Korean exporters to come up with measures to cope with the situation.

China's import market shares of Korean products under China's import restriction fell to 7.8 percent in 2000 from 11.7 percent in 1998 and they fell further to 4.2 percent in 2001. China has been taking such measures to protect its own industry with the pending opening of its markets to foreign countries as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The country is also required to cut its tariff rates and lower trade barriers under WTO rules.

South Korean products became China's target because its large trade surplus with China amounting to $35.2 billion accumulated over the years and a number of its products, including petrochemicals, have been heavily dependent on China for their survival.

Intense rivalry between South Korea and China as the latter improves its technology through the inducement of foreign capital in such key capital-intensive sectors as petrochemical, steel, electric and electronics could be singled out as one of the reasons for China to boost its trade barriers against Korea. KITA called on Korean exporters to diversify their products and expand investments in traditional industrial plants in China. KITA also called for preventive measures by Korean exporters to China by monitoring the performances of their products in China and by forging joint advances into China with the distribution network industry.

(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)