• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
• /
• v.41
• /
• pp.267-292
• /
• 2009

It is a right time to improve the Korea Foreign Trade Act(KFTA) as a fundamental law on Rules of Origin(RoO) in the global trade circumstances which are summarized FTA and WTO. The KFTA's RoO constitutes the labelling system of the Country of Origin, the criterion of it, the issuing of certificate of origin and the punishing offender mainly around the importing goods. This study has focused on the problems of KFTA's RoO at the macro and practical level, and proposed the programs to improve the KFTA's RoO about importing, exporting and domestic production goods. KFTA need to create a purpose clause to protect consumers and industries also, and has to be located a general and top position in the RoO of Korea. In the concrete, the labelling system of the Country of Origin has to set limited in the point of minimum necessity view. The criterion of the Country of Origin also has to improve the wholly obtained criterion, the changing in tariff classification criterion, value added criterion and processing operation criterion to harmonize WTO Rules of Origin and FTA Rules of Origin. The punishment ceiling against offender has to raise to guarantee the effectiveness of RoO.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
• /
• v.49
• /
• pp.493-518
• /
• 2011

The term rules of origin(RoO) actually speaks for itself, referring to the rules which determine the origin of goods in international trade. The importance of RoO has grown significantly as preferential agreements expand and countries have treated similar imported goods differently according to where the product was made. The purpose of this paper is to study the main case study and its implication of RoO in FTAs. According to survey, the degree of using FTAs in Korea export firms is sharply low. Major reasons are that rules of origin differ from country to country in the FTAs, and that Korean firms have yet to work out what the RoO are. Chapter II of this paper views criteria of the determination country of origin of goods. Chapter III introduces the main case study of FTA rules of origin. Chapter VI presents implication through the case studies and finally concluded this study. In conclusion, Korea needs to build up its own position for rules of origin and provides rules of origin experts into the market. In-depth study and evaluation about Korea's existing FTAs RoO should be carried out to prepare for future FTAs.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.3-26
• /
• 2016

The preferential Rules of Origin (RoO) govern tariff preferences that are given in accordance with the FTA. However, relatively few studies have been devoted to the procedures in settling disputes that are relevant to RoO under the FTA. This study is a first attempt at analyzing the applicability and the potential improvement in dispute settlement procedures in FTAs targeted at the preferential RoO. By exploring three dispute cases involving the preferential RoO, it is suggested that restrictiveness, complexity, and uncertainty that are inherent in the preferential RoO may trigger political tension and dispute. Forming a panel that is capable of mitigating political tension, facilitating participation and early cooperation of experts and stakeholders, and establishing a well-structured enforcement procedure are essential in dispute settlement procedures to resolve disputes involving cases on RoO. Furthermore, the current dispute settlement procedure that hinders the private sector's access should be changed to one that is more open to private sector entities, such as companies, to facilitate the enforcement of the decision. Given that more improved FTA dispute settlement procedure may guarantee the enforcement and application of the FTA preferential treatment in relation with more politically powerful states and foster genuine free trades, more in-depth studies must be conducted on this topic.

• East Asian Economic Review
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.3-28
• /
• 2018

This article discusses the deadlock in the WTO on multilateral harmonization of nonpreferential rules of origin (RoO) and reviews some of the RoO included in recent preferential trade agreements. We argue that there is a trend towards adoption of similar approaches and that this suggests that cooperation to reduce the trade-impeding effects of differences in RoO across jurisdictions is more feasible than often is assumed by observers and policymakers. From a trade facilitation perspective such cooperation could be based on plurilateral initiatives under the umbrella of the WTO. These could include a focus on pursuit of greater convergence between preferential and nonpreferential RoO helping to achieve the long-standing goal of moving towards harmonization of rules of origin.

• International Commerce and Information Review
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.205-230
• /
• 2007

In modern manufacturing practice it is sometimes necessary to send products to another country for special processing which cannot be performed inside the territory of the zone and Outward Processing(OP) covers such situation. What's more, process and Rules of Origin(RoO) of OP is implicated in Korea' Free Trade Agreement(Korea-Singapore, Korea-EFTA and Korea-Asean FTA) because of the goods to be producted in Kaesong Industrial Complex. Thus, In this paper analyse a implication of OP's process and RoO focused on the two fold : (1) provide an overview of the objectives, types, effects of Outward Processing described in customs law and FTA provisions of EU and Korea; (2) present a comparative analysis of EU and Korean rules; (3) offer an appropriate proposal to Korea-EU FTA negotiation.

• Journal of Korea Trade
• /
• v.26 no.8
• /
• pp.58-76
• /
• 2022

Purpose - This study examined the Rules of Origin (RoO) as a factor affecting free trade agreements' (FTA) utilization and analyzed the causal relationship and the effects of these factors on the export performance of automobile parts companies. Design/methodology - We analyzed and verified the impact of FTA utilization and the export performance of automobile parts companies by dividing the characteristics of the RoO into complexity and uncertainty. Following which, various statistical analyses were conducted on the interrelationships among these variables. Findings - This research analyzed the effect of the RoO factors of complexity and uncertainty on the use of FTA and the export performance of automobile parts companies. We found that these characteristics of RoO were generally related to and affected the FTA use and export performance of these companies. Based on this, this study's investigation into the characteristics of the RoO would then help companies in better utilizing the FTA, as well as providing suggestions on how to effectively respond to the application of the FTA in the future. Originality/value - Companies that want to utilize FTAs in international trade must follow the RoO. In the Regional Trade Agreement (RTA), the country-of-origin is a key factor, with the RoO being an important requirement for the application of preferential tariffs. These regulations are a requirement for receiving FTA preferential treatment; however, they also cause difficulties to companies in using the FTA.

• Journal of Korea Trade
• /
• v.25 no.8
• /
• pp.1-24
• /
• 2021

Purpose - This study categorizes factors that influence the utilization of preferential tariffs based on the characteristics of rules of origin (RoO) and identifies and analyzes the influence of these characteristics on the utilization of preferential tariffs and the trade performance of companies. Design/methodology - In this study, we categorized factors that have an influence on the utilization of preferential tariffs based on the characteristics of RoO and investigated and tested the influence of these characteristics on the utilization of preferential tariffs and the trade performance of companies. For empirical analysis, we categorized the characteristics of RoO into restrictiveness, complexity, and uncertainty. We then developed a research model and formulated hypotheses based on previous studies, and tested the hypotheses using statistical software-(SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 18.0.) Findings - Previous studies suggested that each characteristic of RoO is determined by unique features of a Regional Trade Agreement (RTA). This study conducted an empirical analysis on the influence of the characteristics of RoO on the utilization of preferential tariffs and trade performance. The results confirmed that, overall, the characteristics of preferential rules of origin (PRoO) are related to and influence Korean companies' utilization of preferential tariffs and trade performance. As for the degree of the influence, the characteristics were in the order of uncertainty> restrictiveness> complexity. Nevertheless, complexity turned out not to have an influence large enough to change a company's decision on the utilization of preferential tariffs. Based on these results, this study identified unique features of PRoO and related problems for Korean companies that want to utilize preferential tariffs and suggested countermeasures for their effective utilization of preferential tariffs in the future. Originality/value - Companies that want to use preferential tariffs in international trade have to satisfy PRoO. The issue of origin can be regarded as an essential part of an RTA and RoO, are a crucial criterion in using preferential tariffs. The rules are requirements to claim benefits of preferential trade agreements and are the primary reasons companies have trouble in utilizing preferential tariffs. In this sense, this study categorized the characteristics of RoO, which are a key part of an RTA, and surveyed working-level professionals in charge of international trade at Korean companies to investigate the relationship between these characteristics and the utilizations of preferential tariffs and trade performance of the companies.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
• /
• v.47
• /
• pp.379-402
• /
• 2010

The Korea Foreign Trade Act(KFTA) was revised the penal provisions of the breach of the Country of Origin Labeling(COOL) recently. The ceiling of penalties became to 5 years for imprisonment, one hundred or three hundred million won for fine. The level of penalties are adjudged quite fair but the amount of penalty should be increased according to the profits from the breach or the nature of crime in some cases. The problems of the penalties are differences between KFTA and other related laws. There are related several laws on the breach of the COOL such as KFTA, Unfair Trade related Law, Customs Law, Consumer Protection Law, Law of COOL on Agricultural and Marine products etc. The penal provisions of the breach of the COOL has more heavier level than other the breach because of the criminal qualities. The problems are the penalty differences between the KFTA and the Unfair Trade Law under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The KFTA's penal provisions need to equate with Unfair Trade Law as long as same breaches on the COOL. The government can also consider some policies to rigid enforcement of breaches on the COOL. There are the Country of Origin Tracking system, the RoO Paparazzi System, Make public the names of habitual RoO Violators, Correction Order of breach of the COOL etc.