Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) will expand comprehensive support measures to minimize Middle East war damage to export corporations and stabilize domestic supply chains. This follows the budget secured after the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources finalized a wartime supplementary budget of 1.098 trillion won on the 10th.
KOTRA said on the 15th that on the 14th it held the 18th Middle East emergency response task force (TF) meeting, linking all executives and overseas trade offices including those in the Middle East via video at its headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Presided over by President Kang Kyung-sung of KOTRA, the meeting reviewed the progress and comprehensive plan for support projects for Middle East export corporations using the supplementary budget.
First, it decided to expand the emergency support voucher program. It will inject 25.5 billion won into this month's recruitment alone to support more than 500 corporations. The budget is more than triple the 8 billion won in March. The scope of eligible Middle Eastern countries will also be expanded from 14 to 22, and the cap on international shipping support will be temporarily raised from 60 million won to 75 million won.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and KOTRA have been additionally recruiting participating corporations for the emergency support voucher program since on the 13th. The deadline is on the 26th. The March recruitment for the emergency support voucher saw a competition rate of 5 to 1, and a total of 158 corporations were selected last week, including 66 on the fast-track (within three days of application) and 92 on the general track.
Support for storage and inland transportation using overseas joint logistics centers will also be strengthened. Operated in collaboration with local logistics specialist corporations by KOTRA, this program supports logistics consulting and expense for local warehouse storage, customs clearance, transportation, packaging, labeling, returns and more.
This program is also recruiting participating corporations from on the 13th to on the 26th. As with the emergency support voucher, a fast-track screening procedure will apply. The support scale has doubled from 12 million won to 24 million won. KOTRA plans to support more than 380 corporations.
Recruitment also began on the 13th for corporations to join the "Middle East damage emergency support branch office program," aimed at corporations whose business trips have been blocked or negotiations with buyers have become difficult due to the Middle East war situation. Eligible applicants are corporations with export performance to the Middle East from last year through February this year.
It will act on behalf of corporations for meetings with local Middle Eastern buyers and managing business partners, and will also support discovering new buyers outside the Middle East. Participation fees will be lowered to the existing 10%–30% level, and the selection process will be simplified.
KOTRA will also make an all-out effort for on-site support by consolidating the "Middle East war emergency response grievance consultation desk," 13 trade offices in the Middle East, and government and related agencies. From on the 3rd of last month to on the 10th of this month, a total of 435 inquiries and grievances were received at the consultation desk, of which 146 were related to transport of export goods, accounting for the largest share.
In addition, various inquiries and requests for support are being received, such as transaction disruptions due to inability to travel, difficulties communicating with buyers, contract changes and payment of proceeds, delays in construction plant projects, and challenges in sourcing raw materials.
Accordingly, KOTRA's 13 Middle Eastern trade offices are providing daily information on 24 ports near Gulf countries and possible detour routes. While continuing to guide corporations on emergency vouchers and joint logistics center services, it is also providing quotation, consultation and discount services in the Middle East using KOTRA's export logistics collaboration network.
It discounted the fees for the "Export24 global agency 14 services" by 20% to discover alternative markets and expanded the target regions from the existing seven countries to 22. Following the "Middle East war response and alternative market discovery project seminar" held on the 15th, KOTRA also plans to hold a "Global South (Southeast Asia and India) consumer market briefing" on the 27th.
In addition, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and KOTRA decided to pursue measures such as supporting the increase in naphtha import prices and raising country-specific support limits for urea to help parts, materials and equipment corporations overcome crises caused by supply difficulties due to the Middle East war. They will also diversify additional import sources in parallel by leveraging KOTRA's global organizational network.
Kang Kyung-sung, president of KOTRA, said, "As uncertainty in the Middle East war persists, an all-out response is urgently needed to ease difficulties for export corporations and support supply chain stabilization," and added, "We will proceed swiftly and seamlessly so the supplementary budget projects can truly help corporations, and, considering the emergency situation, we will do our best for flexible on-site support by domestic and overseas networks and for finding alternative supply chains."