PRESS
RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/235
17 September 2004
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Further trade liberalization and structural reforms, the key to sustained growth
Korea’s economy has achieved an impressive recovery from the Asian crisis, with its GDP per capita having been restored to pre-crisis levels, according to a report on the trade policies and practices of the Republic of Korea released on September 17 by the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Secretariat.
This economic recovery has undoubtedly been fostered by wide-ranging
structural reforms and the maintenance of outward-oriented trade and
investment policies as far as manufacturing and services are concerned.
The recovery was also facilitated by a favourable external economic
environment, the report says.
Nonetheless, the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Secretariat report notes that Korea faces several
related economic challenges. These include sluggish domestic demand,
resulting in possible over-reliance on exports as the main source of
current growth, and the need for further trade liberalization and
structural reforms to develop a more competitive economy.
The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ report, along with a policy statement by the Government, will be the basis for the Trade Policy Review (TPR) by the Trade Policy Review Body of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ.
The following documents are available in MS Word format.
- Secretariat report
> Contents and summary observations (12 pages, 112KB)
> Economic environment (13 pages, 347KB)
> Trade policy regime: framework and objectives (24 pages, 279KB)
> Trade policies and practices by measure (44 pages, 392KB)
> Trade policies by sector (35 pages, 445KB)
> Appendix tables (41 pages, 1788KB)
- Government report (22 pages,
203KB)
- Chairperson's concluding remarks
- Minutes
of the meeting are available approximately 6 weeks after the meeting.
Note back to top
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.
Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the .
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.
Schedule of forthcoming reviews back to top
Rwanda: 28 and 30 September
2004
Norway: 11 and 13 October 2004
European Union: 25 and 27 October 2004