• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.335-353
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• 2022

There are two aspects of digital trade: the digitalisation of goods/services being traded and the digitalisation of the transactional act. Digital data (i.e. machine-readable industrial data and transactional data) is the major driving force for both aspects of digital trade. Digital data is a non-rivalrous input, whether for production or marketing activities, and is thus able to be used by many firms or government agencies without limiting the use of others. Digital platforms provide online infrastructure for the interactions between groups, for instance, consumers and producers. The externality effect refers to the situation in which prosperity in one group on a given platform will improve the returns of other groups on the same platform. In the era of the data-driven economy, strategic trade policy can involve data-related policies. The major objective of these policies is to improve the competitiveness of domestic firms. For instance, firms may be subsidised if they use cloud services provided by specific platforms. This strand of strategic trade policies might be useful for increasing the competitiveness of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via the digitalisation of production/marketing processes. Alternatively, strategic trade policy may also exploit the externality effect via platform economy-related policies. Further, some countries may form data coalitions to facilitate cross-border data flow. This paper uses cases in Asian countries to illustrate which role these strategic trade policies can play in the digital economy.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.135-142
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• 2017

The importance of trade cooperation with foreign countries is becoming higher in order to utilize the competitiveness of its own country's industries. In Korea, the government has made various efforts to respond to the expansion of foreign trade cooperation. As time goes by, it is needed to redefine and reestablish the functions of industrial polices in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of foreign trade cooperation. We focus on the industrial and trade policies related to FTA. Mainly we do research the impact (before and after FTA) of industry, trade policies, and firms' management activities on the export-oriented firms. For this end we conduct a survey on the firms' evaluation of the trade related policies and analyze with the panel data regression model. According to the results, in order to enhance the utilization of FTA, the connection with export support program, the training of expert HRs, and the prohibition of double regulation are the main influential policies.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.83-95
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• 2019

Purpose - This study analyzed the effect of the Trump Government's protectionist trade policies on foreign ownership. Specifically, this study empirically analyzes the hypothesis that foreign ownership will decrease after the Trump Government rather than before the Trump Government. Design/methodology - The hypothesis of this study is based on the expectation that US protection trade policy will negatively affect the profitability of Korean companies. The dependent variable in this study is the foreign ownership ratio, and the independent variable is a dummy variable representing before and after the Trump Government. Multiple regression analysis was performed, including the control variables suggested in previous studies related to foreign ownership. Findings - As a result, foreign ownership increased after the Trump Government rather than before the Trump Government. This study further analyzes whether the main variables affecting foreign investor's decision-making are differences before and after Trump Government. The export ratio, profitability and dividends did not differ before and after Trump Government. However, the level of information asymmetry decreased after the Trump Government than before the Trump Government. This suggests that US protection trade policies do not adversely affect the profitability of Korean companies. However, Korean firms are improving their information environment because US protectionist trade policies can lower profitability and negatively impact capital raising. In this regard, the foreign ownership ratio seems to differ before and after the Trump Government. Originality/value - This study contributes in that it presents data that US protectionist policies can affect Korean corporate governance. This study has implications from the short-term analysis of US protection trade policy.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.107-124
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• 2020

Purpose - We assess the trade remedies rules in a host of Korea's FTAs to explore the trade policies for the effective implementation of FTA trade remedies rules. Also we develop the strategies of the future FTA negotiations of trade remedies rules. Design/methodology - After we review the key features of FTA trade remedies rules, we examine whether the rules are WTO-consistent or not. Next, we touch upon the WTO-plus characteristics of some provisions. Our main methodology is to compare the trade remedies rules in the numerous Korea's FTAs. Another methodology is to link those rules to the relevant WTO agreements and WTO dispute cases with a view to drawing lessons for trade policies and FTA negotiations. Findings - We find that most of the trade remedies rules are WTO-consistent. Moreover, we find that notification and consultation requirment, mandatory lesser duty rule, explicit prohibition of zeroing method, and public interest clause are WTO-plus. We also find that there are limitiations in the application of some global safeguard exclusion rules because of their non-mandatory nature. Originality/value - While most of previous studies focus mainly on the unique aspects of specific FTAs, our study analyzes comprehensively the trade remedies rules in the various Korea's FTAs. Based on the comprehensive analysis, we figure out the areas to be clarified and improved for the effective implementation of FTAs and the strategies for the future FTA trade remedies negotiations. As a consequence, our paper is expected to contribute to the academic research on FTA policies as well as the national economy.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.337-348
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• 2020

Although the WTO has fulfilled several key tasks it was set up to do - providing periodic reviews of members' trade policies, resolving disputes, supporting negotiations - with the notable exceptions of the Trade Facilitation and Information Technology agreements, WTO members have not been able to negotiate new rules on "bread and butter" trade policies. The importance of doing so was illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw widespread uncoordinated recourse to trade policy instruments. This paper highlights four reforms that would bolster the effectiveness of the WTO as a forum for trade cooperation: (1) improving collection and reporting of information on trade-related policies; (2) supporting analysis-informed deliberation to establish a common understanding of the need and scope for cooperation in specific policy areas; (3) putting in place a stronger multilateral governance framework for plurilateral cooperation between groups of WTO members; and (4) reestablishing an effective dispute settlement system.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.243-273
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• 2018

A consequence of global trade liberalization is that domestic regulatory policies have become a focal point for efforts to reduce the costs of engaging in cross-border production and exchange. This article discusses the general challenges of reducing trade frictions created by regulatory differences, focusing specifically on the role trade agreements might play in addressing regulatory spillovers. A case is made for a greater focus on plurilateral cooperation under the umbrella of the WTO.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.191-209
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• 2022

Whether or not insurance policies are securities has been debated for nearly a century. The position of claiming that an insurance policy has securities properties is premised on the concomitant nature of the maritime cargo insurance policy to the bill of lading. However, in reality today, marine cargo insurance policies are transferred between parties involved in international trade as an integral part of the bill of lading, and the two securities go through the same distribution process. The issue of recognizing the securities properties of an insurance policy is particularly debated when the insurance policy is issued in a order or bearer form. In a normal insurance policy, the name of the right holder, such as the claimant, is written on the insurance policy, and it is not usually transferred by endorsement. In principle, insurance policies are interpreted as neither securities nor negotiable securities. Sometimes, research is being done on legal reform to respond to digitalization of securities, and bills of lading are the subject of research. If marine cargo insurance policies, which are sometimes premised on distribution, have securities properties, the status of the regulations on digitization of bills of lading currently being studied may be helpful for digitization of marine cargo insurance policies. Under these circumstances, the securities of marine cargo insurance policies are reviewed based on recent practices.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

Digital trade rules are crucial in supporting the digital economy as the rules effectively reduce unnecessary trade barriers. This study introduces various approaches that major countries take regarding digital trade policies and rules. Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership has introduced comprehensive rules on e-commerce, including binding articles on the free flow of information, location of computing facilities, and source code. More recent e-commerce provisions or digital trade agreements cover wider range of issues, from cyber security, artificial intelligence, and data innovation to electronic invoicing and payments. Multilateral negotiations on digital trade rules, including the World Trade Organization E-commerce Joint Statement Initiatives and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, are in progress. Thus, countries involved are expected to respond to new digital trade issues with long-term strategies considering domestic policy objectives.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.21-44
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• 2022

Purpose - This study quantifies sources of trade balance dynamics over the business cycle in Korea. Specifically, we quantify the relative importance of domestic and foreign factors on trade balance dynamics using a small open economy real business cycle (SOE-RBC) model and provide policy implications for stabilization policies. Aggregate productivity and interest rate spreads are considered domestic factors affecting the trade balance. A world interest rate (the U.S. interest rate) is considered a foreign factor. Design/methodology - Following Neumeyer and Perri (2005), we build the SOE-RBC model with three types of shocks: aggregate productivity, interest rate spread, and world interest shocks. The model is estimated by the generalized method of moments (GMM) using relevant business cycle statistics. The estimated model is used for quantifying the relative importance of domestic and foreign factors on trade balance dynamics in Korea. Findings - Our main findings can be summarized as follows: 85.64% of the trade balance fluctuations in Korea are explained by domestic factors, the remaining 14.35% by foreign factors. Particularly, trade balance dynamics are mostly accounted for by the change in aggregate productivity shocks (85.58%). World interest rate shocks considerably explain trade balance (14.35%), whereas the role of interest rate spread shocks that represent domestic risks is limited (0.08%). Although aggregate productivity is key in explaining trade balance dynamics in Korea, interest rates still have an essential role. This is because aggregate productivity changes induce interest rate spread variations and, thus, the trade balance significantly. The results suggest that government policies mitigating fluctuations in aggregate productivity would be effective for stabilization policies in Korea by reducing the trade balance volatility. Originality/value - Existing studies on the emerging market business cycle examine mostly Latin American countries, and the main object of the studies is the volatility of consumption rather than trade balance dynamics. Conversely, our study examines Korea rather than Latin American countries. Additionally, we examine sources of trade balance dynamics, which are relatively more important in Korea, rather than those of the volatility of consumption. Hence, we estimate the model to explicitly match moments related to trade balance in the data.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technology Innovation Society Conference
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• 2006.11b
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• pp.371-396
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• 2006

To see the implication of trade policy in endogeneous growth model, we introduce trade protection that takes the form of an import tariff and represents one plus the rate of protection provided to industry sector. We showed that considering goodness of fit of regression model, we can see that the empirical evidence is strongly in favor of the character of trade policies as the instrument spurring economic growth. As for import tariff, we see that 1% increase in the rate of tariff that protect domestic market causes the rate of growth to increase by 0.87%. An import tariff to final product significantly spurs product development and faster growth come as a result. But, we should note that the effects of trade policy are muted by the induced changes in the output of intermediates in an economy that is relatively unproductive in the research lab.