South Korea joins Future Investment and Trade Partnership to help shape new trade rules

South Korea has joined the Future Investment and Trade Partnership (FIT-P), a multilateral forum aimed at shaping new trade rules and building practical frameworks for international cooperation. FIT-P was launched in September last year by mid-sized economies that champion free trade and open markets, including Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Costa Rica.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Yeo Han-koo, the country's chief trade negotiator, officially formalized the membership at the second FIT-P ministerial meeting, held Friday and Friday in Auckland, New Zealand.

FIT-P was established to counter the weakening of the World Trade Organization-centered multilateral trading system and focuses on cooperation around emerging trade rules covering supply chain resilience, digital trade, and trade and investment facilitation. With South Korea, Thailand and Peru joining at this ministerial meeting, the group's membership has grown to 19 countries.

"It is meaningful to join FIT-P at a time when the trade paradigm is undergoing a transformation driven by the spread of protectionism and the rapid advancement of new technologies," Yeo said. "We will build a solid institutional foundation so that Korean companies can expand into global markets in a stable environment, by taking a leading role in establishing new trade rules."

Yeo also held bilateral meetings with key FIT-P member countries to discuss trade issues.

With New Zealand Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay, he agreed to strengthen cooperation in supply chains, digital trade and environmental areas on the back of South Korea's FIT-P accession. With Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong, he agreed to expand cooperation on supply chains and the green economy through free trade agreement negotiations and FTA improvement talks.

With Chile, discussions focused on cooperation in critical minerals including lithium and copper, while with Uruguay, the two sides agreed to consult on resuming negotiations for a South Korea-Mercosur trade agreement.

Meanwhile, the meeting also served as the occasion for a ceremony marking Costa Rica's deposit of its instrument of accession to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).

DEPA is a plurilateral digital trade agreement originally concluded by Singapore, New Zealand and Chile. South Korea was the first additional country to join, and Costa Rica has now become the second.