Korea Abandoning The Status Of Developing Chinese Scholars: May Abandon The Tide

In October 25th (2019), the Korean government announced its abandonment of its status as a "developing country" in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Economists believe that South Korea's move has little effect on the regional economy, but it may bring the domino effect of "abandonment".

South Korea's finance minister said the South Korean government had decided to give up its status as a "developing country" in WTO and would no longer negotiate with the "developing countries" in the future WTO negotiations.

Li Chun, deputy executive director of WTO and RTA center, pointed out that South Korea's abandonment of developing Chinese identity has limited impact on Asian regional economies and global economic and trade. The main reason is that all free trade agreements (FTA) signed by South Korea have not distinguished the identity differences between developing countries and developing countries.

Li Chun observed that although South Korea did not proactively announce in the past, its actual behavior and policies were "developed countries". Therefore, the announcement of the abandonment of the "developing country" status is consistent with the name. Li Chun further said that the US lobby and initiative, including the member states of the OECD and G20, should abandon the status of "developing countries". South Korea's action should be interpreted as echoing and supporting the WTO reform of the United States.

Qiu Dasheng, deputy director of Taiwan economic prosperity forecast center, believes that the coverage of FTA in South Korea is high. Therefore, the necessity of setting up tariff protection has become increasingly weak, coupled with the pressure from the United States. Therefore, abandoning the development of Chinese identity is the policy direction expected to be implemented.

Qiu Dasheng observed that with this decision, South Korea may also adjust its tariff policy, which may be a good opportunity for countries not to have FTA with South Korea, such as Taiwan. He explained that if the tariff policy is adjusted, Taiwan's agricultural products will also have the opportunity to enter the Korean market.

South Korea's decision may also create a domino effect in the future. According to Li Chun analysis, the announcement of Korea will put pressure on other countries similar to the situation in Korea, such as Mexico, a member of OECD and G20. Next, there will be a wave of abandonment.