Countries like South Korea, Switzerland and Chile, which have high foreign dependence and below-average (26 per cent) US export share, have actively concluded FTAs with most of their export partners to raise exports due to their small domestic markets, the report released by the Institute for International Trade, affiliated with KITA, noted.
As a result, the pace of new FTA conclusions has slowed somewhat, focusing on improving and supplementing existing FTAs.
Second, countries like Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica, which have high foreign dependence and particularly large US export shares, have pursued FTAs with large markets such as Mercosur, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU) and CPTPP to find alternative markets to the United States.
Lastly, countries with high domestic (regional) market dependence like Japan, China, Australia and the EU have also been strategically pursuing recently additional FTA conclusions.
Meanwhile, FTAs concluded by South Korea are substantially contributing to stable export expansion.
The report suggested that South Korea should also strengthen its FTA promotion strategy to respond to changes in the trade environment caused by the US-initiated tariff war, according to domestic media reports.
The country should overcome the limitations of its domestic market and preempt the advanced industry market by improving existing agreements to expand market access and enhance services and investment sectors, and actively pursuing new agreements, it argued.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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