The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers' meeting opened on the 15th.
The meeting, held over a two-day period at the International Convention Center Jeju, is expected to discuss ways for international cooperation to restore the multilateral trading system amid the changing trade landscape following President Trump's policies.
Notably, on the closing day, the 16th, a trade consultation between Ahn Duk-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Jamieson Greer, U.S. Trade Representative, is scheduled. In addition to the Korea-U.S. consultations, there is potential for trade discussions involving major countries such as the U.S.-China and U.S.-Japan.
APEC is the world's largest economic cooperation forum, accounting for more than 60% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and half of global trade volume. This meeting will see the attendance of trade ministers from 21 member economies in the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, and Chile, as well as high-ranking officials from international organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Korea will chair the APEC Trade Ministers' Meeting for the first time in 20 years since 2005. The chair will be Jeong In-kyo, the Chief Negotiator for Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who holds the title of 'trade minister.'
The meeting will be linked to the theme of the APEC leaders' summit scheduled for the end of October in Gyeongju, with sessions covering topics such as ▲ AI innovation for trade facilitation ▲ consolidation through multilateral trade systems ▲ prosperity through sustainable trade.
The session on 'AI innovation for trade facilitation' will discuss various cooperation measures to promote the use of AI in the trade sector.
The OECD Deputy Secretary-General, who has played a leading role in the international standardization of AI-related trade regulations, will present, leading discussions on the formulation of OECD AI principles.
The session titled 'Consolidation through multilateral trade systems' will explore ways to revive the multilateral trading system and discuss the role of APEC in this context. The Director-General of the WTO will take the podium to continue discussions on WTO reform and cooperation directions for the future of the multilateral trading system.
The session on 'Prosperity through sustainable trade' will seek cooperation measures to build sustainable supply chains, including responses to stable supply chains and climate crises.
The outcomes of the Korea-U.S. trade consultations, which will take place alongside the trade ministers' meeting, are also expected to attract attention.
Korea and the U.S. trade authorities have been engaged in operational consultations in areas such as tariffs, non-tariff barriers, economic security, investment cooperation, and currency policy since the '2+2' talks held in Washington last month.
In this high-level contact, it is expected that an initial summary of the operational consultations conducted so far will be compiled. As both countries aim to finalize the 'July package,' high-level discussions on major issues are anticipated.
Interest is also growing regarding the success of a U.S.-China bilateral meeting. The two nations recently agreed on Dec. 12 (local time) to drastically reduce their reciprocal tariffs by 110% each through the 'Geneva Agreement.'
As both Greer, the U.S. representative and Li Chenggang, a Vice Minister and Chief Negotiator of International Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, who were key figures in the 'Geneva Agreement,' will attend the meeting in Jeju, attention is focused on whether any advanced agreements regarding tariffs will be reached between the two sides.