15 nations, including S. Korea and US, join forces against structural overproduction — with China in mind

Fifteen countries, including South Korea, have agreed to jointly address structural overproduction in key industries such as electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, general-purpose semiconductors and solar panels. While no specific country was named, the move is widely seen as targeting China. Western nations, including the United States and European countries, have long criticized Chinese companies for flooding global markets with goods produced in excess using unfair government subsidies.

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Thursday that 15 countries issued a "Joint Ministerial Statement on Addressing Structural Overcapacity" at the OECD headquarters in Paris on Wednesday (local time).

Participating countries include South Korea, Argentina, Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

At the G20 trade ministers' meeting held over two days in Milwaukee beginning Sept. 30, most member countries acknowledged the severity of the overproduction problem, but consensus could not be reached due to objections from some members.

The 15 countries that shared the same concerns subsequently issued the joint statement on the sidelines of the OECD Trade Committee meeting in Paris, the ministry said.

The participating nations agreed that structural overproduction and excess capacity pose significant challenges to both the global economy and individual national economies. They also called on all countries to take active countermeasures against non-market policies and practices — including subsidies — that distort markets and perpetuate overproduction.

The five sectors identified for concrete action are automobiles and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, general-purpose semiconductors and solar panels. Participating countries plan to establish dedicated working groups for each sector to assess the extent of overproduction and its impact on industries and markets, and to develop effective responses.

The sector-specific working groups will also be open to non-OECD member countries in the future.

The participating nations plan to hold working-level meetings before December to establish operating frameworks for the sector groups. They also agreed to share publicly available information on the current state of overproduction and its industrial impact.

"We plan to actively participate in building sector-specific cooperation platforms and follow-up discussions, and to work closely with key countries to effectively address the global overproduction problem," a ministry official said.