1. On September 18, the Foreign Ministry published a book on “import regulations of major countries and ways to cope with them” in order to help Korean companies better respond to anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures of foreign governments.

2. The book consists of six chapters on key stipulations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements on anti-dumping, safeguard and subsidies; laws and institutions of the US, India and China related to import regulations; (nine) cases handled by the Import Regulations Team of the Foreign Ministry; and a glossary.

° India, the US and China have most frequently applied import regulations to Korean-made products, having filed 31, 30 and 14 relevant cases, respectively.

° In particular, the guide book, published in cooperation with overseas diplomatic missions, includes practical, handy tips for handling the entire process, starting from the moment a company is sued until the case is closed -- tips that can be usefully applied to real cases.

3. The book also provides detailed information on experiences of the ROK government and companies in cases that ended in favor of Korean companies, --including the US-raised dispute that ended in favor of Korean-made refrigerators in April 2012, India’s spandex safeguard investigation that was wrapped up in the same way in September 2014, and China’s anti-dumping investigation on acrylic fiber and decision in July 2016 to lower duties on them -- which is expected to help Korean companies in setting strategies for coping with import regulations.

4. In her remarks in the book, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha stated that the volume was published in cooperation with relevant experts at home and overseas diplomatic missions with the aim to render practical assistance to Korean enterprises and that the Foreign Ministry will continuously seek to reinforce its infrastructure and expertise, asking Korean companies to work closely with the Foreign Ministry’s Import Regulations Team.

※ The Foreign Ministry’s Import Regulations Team, formed in September 2000, is currently led by the Deputy Director-General for Bilateral Economic Affairs and composed of officials of the Bilateral Economic Affairs Bureau. It seeks ways to cope with import regulations of foreign governments.

5. The book will be available at major government agencies, universities, think tanks, public libraries and export companies. It can be downloaded in an e-book form easily and for free at Kyobo and Youngpoong online bookstores.

※ The book will also be available for downloading in the PDF format at Youngpoong, Kyobo, Aladdin, Bandi & Lunis, and Yes24 bookstores.


* unofficial translation