According to South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy website news release on October 14, 2022, Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun held talks with Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell on October 13 on the occasion of the latter's visit to Korea, and discussed ROK-Australia’s critical minerals cooperation expansion measures, WTO reform and bi-, multi-lateral trade issues, and requested Australia’s support for World EXPO 2030 Busan.
The bilateral talks are the first to be held after Korea and Australia’s relations were upgraded to a comprehensive and strategic partnership, and are regarded to have deepened their cooperation further amid the newly forming global supply chain and trade order.
Minister Ahn stated that the two countries have achieved a mutually beneficial trade structure based on their supplementary industrial competitive advantages, and that the ROK-Australia FTA has contributed greatly to their trade expansion over eight years since entering force.
Trade between Korea and Australia grew from USD 30.3 billion in 2018 to 42.7 billion dollars in 2021. Korea exports petroleum products and automobiles to Australia, while Australia exports coal, natural gas, minerals, agriculture and livestock products to Korea.
He added that critical minerals supply chain stabilization is all the more important amid the Russia-Ukraine war and U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Australia’s trade chief Don Farrell stated that he looked forward to “more cooperation opportunities for supply chain reinforcements, and that follow-up talks should be held on a regular basis for implementing the key points discussed.”
The two sides concurred that the restoration of a free and open WTO-centric multilateral, rules-based trade system is urgent, and agreed to continue making joint efforts to advance discussions on WTO reform through implementation of items agreed during the 12th WTO Ministerial Meeting (MC-12).
In addition, the two Ministers agreed to work in tandem to see tangible outcomes for Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) negotiations in the near future.
