South Korea has set up a new office specifically tasked with dealing with non-tariff trade barriers raised by other countries, the government said Monday, in a move to boost its exports.
The move comes as the government is expected to announce a list of plans for dealing with non-tariff trade barriers at the end of this month.
A recent survey showed nearly three out of every 10 small- and medium-sized enterprises here that export their goods and services to Japan have experienced some type of non-tariff barriers to their exports while 16.7 percent of companies that ship products to China have experienced similar resistance to their exports, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The World Trade Organization, too, has said trade protectionism was approaching a dangerously high level throughout the world, noting the number of technical barriers to trade reported in 2012 reached a record high of 1,560.
The new South Korean office on non-tariff barriers will gather actual cases of trade protectionism and evaluate their effects on South Korean exports.
It will then work to remove non-tariff barriers while also helping South Korean firms deal with such trade barriers, the ministry said. (Yonhap News)
