• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.110-131
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• 2019

Purpose - This paper investigates the implications for facilitating trade in the products of Industry 4.0. To identify the issues caused by the conflicts of policy objectives such as applying the tariff concession under the ITA and imposing the export control, by exploring the case of classification of drones. Design/methodology - We adopted a single case study method to gain a deeper understanding of the complex and multifaceted issues of Customs classification in the context of facilitating trade in the products of Industry 4.0. This study employs the case of drones to explore how these issues of Customs classification affect trade facilitation. We ensured the internal validity of the study by confirming the pattern of the results with the existing theories. Findings - Our main findings can be summarised as follows: the intrinsic nature of the products that converge several technologies causes issues in the classification. The inconsistency in product classification delays customs clearance by hindering the Customs risk-management system that pinpoints products subject to controls. To address the issues, therefore, we proposed fundamental reforms of Customs to empower themselves with management roles. Facilitating trade in the products of Industry 4.0 requires more enhanced Customs capability. Therefore, the reforms should include comprehensive capacity-building activities, such as changes in staff-trainings, promotion system, organisation and culture. Customs also need roles in robust designing of cooperative systems to compensate for the lacks of controls and to ensure concrete risk management for expedited Customs procedures. As well, by equipping the Single Window of Customs with crucial control functions of other ministries, Customs need to support the cooperation. The role of harmonising various preaudits of other ministries with its own is another essential role that ensures predictability of clearance procedure. Originality/value - There are scanty studies in the field of knowledge about what obstacles exist and what solution is available in the course of transforming to 'Industry 4.0'. In filling out the gap of knowledge, this paper is of academic significance in that it applies the research theory on trade facilitation for the specific cases of classification of the product of Industry 4.0 to verify its effectiveness and to extend the subject of the studies to the scope of Industry 4.0. It also has practical significance in that the results have provided implications for reforms of Customs procedures to facilitate trade in the products of Industry 4.0.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.127-142
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• 2021

The Pohang Youngilman Port is the only international trade port in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, but its cargo throughput has been stagnated since its opening. Finding out ways to revitalize the port has been a big issue in the region, taking its potential business effects on the surrounding areas into consideration. This study, therefore, aimed to critically evaluate the government policies and empirically analyze business environments of the Pohang Youngilman Port as a fundamental to reach solutions for its revitalization. The policy evaluation showed that there are discrepancies in viewing contexts, implementations and mechanisms of the port at each government level, which resulted in implementing various but inconsistent solutions. Also, the interview results were analyzed to point out the fundamental problems, such as limited cargo volume due to weak hinterland development, lack of shuttle shipping between Busan New Port and Pohang Youngilman Port, and lack of large shippers to diverse the shipping network. This study has academic and managerial implications in suggesting measures for facilitation of the Pohang Youngilman Port by amalgamating various viewpoints of governments and stakeholders, which can be used for policy development as well as practical solutions for the port.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.63-83
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• 2003

This paper's objective is to provide insights about the problems and expansion strategies of electronic trade. Korean small and medium-sized firms have adopted the Internet since the end of 1990s in order to reshape their competitiveness, and it is now being utilized as a major export marketing instrument to develop new customers, save export transaction costs ad facilitate new work processes. However, at present, the use of the internet in the field of trading is limited to the collection of market information, owing to legal, technical and institutional restraints between countries. In addition to that, because firms have the difficulties in making the trade contract through the e-trade system, the negative recognition on its' utility has been spreaded gradually between companies. This is one of the barriers to block the expansion of e-Trade between Korean firms. Therefore, this paper points out the problems of e-trade in the environmental, institutional and strategic view and provides many considerations for establishing the expansion strategy of e-trade by the Korean government and trade supporting institutions.

• 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.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.3-21
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• 2017

As to 'E-Commerce Trade' or 'The Cross Border E-Commerce (CBEC)' which has shown rapid diffusion, Korean government is providing active support on the basis of idea that it has profound impact on increase of export. However, sporadic support propelled by various ministries and agencies are not effective and efficient at all on actual circumstances. Consequently, in order to promote consistency, effectiveness, and efficiency of supporting policy, it is desirable to clarify competent ministry and the duty of cooperation to the other ministries and agencies. For its own sake, it is necessary to amend each existing laws which scattered all over the business territory, or to legislate new enactments. Yet these methods are extremely tough to carry out, therefore, it seems that amending 'Electronic Trade Facilitation Act', which already exist and regulate 'paperless trade' would be a realistic alternative. For the diffusion of Korean CBEC especially export, in this study the author insists that amending this law to promote CBEC is the most reasonable way comparing to other ways with several reference materials.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.125-141
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• 2006

It is no unnecessary to tell the importance of foreign trade in Korea economics. Nevertheless, government's direct support is impossible owing to WTO's regulation. Accordingly, government have brought focus into trade facilitation as paperless trade. e-Trade document repositary building by government's budget and private sector's cooperation is a part of e-Trade platform and necessary function in connection with relay and certification of e-Trade document. This study examined the estimated operational problems of e-Trade document repositary as compared Licensed Electronic Document Repositary. Firstly, the operator of e-Trade document repositary undertake multiple role and function as Licensed Certification Authorities(e-sign Act), Licensed Electronic Document Repositary(Framework Act on Electronic Transaction) etc. Secondly, sufficient levy that meet operating cost of the e-trade document is the key point of e-Trade document repositary's success, because additional budget invest in that operation is too hard to do. Thirdly, the operator of the e-Trade document repositary have to keep fairness, objectivity and transparency because the operational right is exclusive.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.7
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• pp.403-411
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• 2021

This study discusses the influence of economic factors on the clothing exports from China and 15 South and Southeast Asian countries to the United States. A basic gravity trade model with three predictors, including the GDP value produced by exporting and importing countries and their geographical distance was established to explain the bilateral trade patterns. The conventional approach of multiple regression and the novel approach of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were developed based on the value of clothing exports from 2012 to 2018 and applied to the trade pattern prediction of 2019. The results showed that ANNs can achieve a more accurate prediction in bilateral trade patterns than the commonly-used econometric analysis of the basic gravity trade model. Future studies can examine the predictive power of ANNs on an extended gravity model of trade that includes explanatory variables in social and environmental areas, such as policy, initiative, agreement, and infrastructure for trade facilitation, which are crucial for policymaking and managerial consideration. More research should be conducted for the examination of the balance between developing countries' economic growth and their social and environmental sustainability and for the application of more advanced machine-learning algorithms of global trade flow examination.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.51-79
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• 2011

Korea has accomplished the establishment of the National Single Window for Paperless Trade. Since 1991, it has developed Trade Automation Service System based on EDI technology. In 2003, Korean government and private sectors jointly began to set up National Paperless Trade Service( e-Trade Service) as one of the e-government projects. In 2008, they commenced the uTradeHub Service which was equipped with Internet based e-B/L and e-Nego service systems for the first time in the world To facilitate the service Korea amended its e-Trade facilitation Act and Law by 2007. At the end of 2011, Korea historically recorded its trade volume of 1 trillion US dollars and joined '$1 trillion trade club' as the 9the member country since the country had started international trade less than five decades ago. A rolling out of the e-B/L and e-Nego service will 'ally reduce the transaction costs of trading businesses and accelerate the activation e-trade services. The purposes of the study are to examine 'e-B/L Korea' service and its facilitation strategies as well as identify obstacles to utilize the 'e-B/L Korea' service. The paper reviewed and analyzed Korea's Paperless trade system and distinctive characteristics of the 'e-B/L Korea Service. Parts of the fOWld distinctive characteristics of the Korea's e-B/L service are as follows; It is well equiped with IT and legal system. It also has more that 30,000 potential users who are already uTradeHub service users. The paper indicated several weaknesses of the current system such as global KPI issues, circulation of the electronic documents not only in the domestic market but also among economies, development of the electronic Bill of Exchange. As resolution measures, the paper recommended the introduction of mutual recognition system of PKI among trade partner counties, setting up e-trade solution for small and medium companies, and special attention to raise users' awareness of the e-B/L service.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.131-153
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• 2002

An information technology revolution is sweeping the world driven by digitalization and tremendous popularity of the Internet. Electronic commerce and trade is the mainstream of this trend, and realization of a cyberspace without physical, spatial, and time restraints has led radical structural changes in international trade. Northeast Asia including Korea, China and Japan is becoming more important as a core economic region in terms of economic growth, intra-regional trade in particular. The introduction to electronic trade system and networks would playa vital role in speeding up trade of commodities, service and information etc. Therefore the study aims to examine a scheme to facilitate international trade in Northeast Asia by establishing information infrastructures. The study begins with reviewing current situation in information infrastructure such as the number of PC, utilization ratio of internet, information network, volume of electronic commerce. It is analyzed that what kinds of obstacles to facilitating electronic trade in Northeast Asian countries in terms of physical infrastructure, institutions, regulations, technologies regarding information exchange among countries. Finally this study presents some suggestions in order to remove the problems currently existed in vitalizing electronic trade.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.287-305
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• 2019

The export of agricultural, fisheries, and food products acts as an engine of growth for developing countries in particular. However, exporting these items is easier said than done since issues of certification and inspection, so-called technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), in developed markets have worked as major obstacles for exports. This paper examines the institutional aspects and recent trends of South Korea's TBT/SPS-related cases against exporting firms of the developing countries. We suggest a win-win partnership model that can promote cooperative synergies between Korea and developing employing trade-related technical cooperation or ODA (Official Development Aid). Technical cooperation such as the provision of on-spot field consulting services on TBT/SPS-related issues for exporting firms and Korean OEM firms of developing countries can lead to mutual gains. This cooperative partnership can create gains from "the trade-development nexus" for both sides while promoting sustainable trade and investment relationships between Korea and developing countries.