Japan, South Korea to Meet for WTO Consultations
Japanese and South Korean officials will meet in Geneva today to address South Korea’s World Trade Organization dispute over Japan’s export restrictions, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. Ahead of the meeting, Japan reiterated that its export control measures on certain shipments to South Korea, which took effect last month (see 1909090041) are necessary to protect Japan’s export control system. “The update is necessary … to prevent the proliferation of weapons such as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery,” the country said. “Japan will make clear that the update is WTO-consistent.”
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South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an Oct. 9 press release that Japan’s “unfair economic retaliation caused substantial problems,” including “disturbing the global value chain by amplifying the uncertainty of the company's core parts procurement,” according to an unofficial translation. South Korea said it participated in a “side event” -- with the theme of "Export Control in Practice" -- at the United Nations General Assembly in New York with the Asia Pacific Export Control Association and the Strategic Exporters of Nature, to “enhance the trust in the Korean system.” The country said it wanted to inform “the international community of the efforts and outcomes of the Korean government's export control efforts.”
South Korea also expressed its “commitment” to strengthening its export controls for “non-proliferation, anti-terrorism and human rights protection” by sharing information with emerging economies. The country also called for better cooperation with Japan. “Korea and Japan, which play a major role in the global value chain of high technology, need to cooperate in international export control of high technology, and thus, policy dialogue is needed to restore trust and solve problems between the export control authorities of both countries,” it said.