Japan Will Be Kicked Out Of Trade By South Korea.

Following the approval of the Japanese cabinet's amendment to the export trade administration order in August 2nd, the Republic of Korea was excluded from the "white list" of trade facilitation. South Korea said on Monday (August 12th) that it has decided to remove Japan from the trade preferences "white list", which is seen as a response to Japan's recent decision to reduce South Korea's trade status in diplomatic disputes.

It is unclear how South Korea's tightening of export controls will affect bilateral trade. The South Korean government said that Korean companies exporting to Japan would be able to get exceptions from case by case checks, which usually apply to countries with low trade status, which now enjoy faster approval procedures.

South Korea's trade minister, Sung Yun-mo, said the South Korean government decided to remove Japan from the white list of 29 countries in the country because Japan failed to adhere to international principles when managing sensitive materials export controls.

Sung Yun-mo and other South Korean officials did not specify what they considered the problem of export control in Japan. They point out that Seoul will endeavour to reduce its negative impact on South Korean exporters and bilateral trade.

Sung Yun-mo also said that this change is expected to be implemented in September after 20 days of public opinion gathering and further regulatory and legislative review. Seoul is willing to accept any request from Tokyo for consultations on this issue during the period of opinion collection.

In fact, a week before South Korea announced the decision, the cabinet of Japan formally approved the removal of South Korea from the list of countries enjoying preferential trade status. South Korea vowed to retaliate, while accusing Japan of weaponry trade in order to retaliate for its political disputes triggered by wartime history.

In the past few weeks, Japan has tighter control over certain technologies exported to South Korean companies. Korean companies rely on Japanese materials to produce semiconductors and TV and smart phone displays, which are key export products of South Korea.