Country of origin certification procedures regarding the Korea-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) will be simplified starting next year. The Korea-ASEAN FTA implementation committee approved on June 30 the revised version of the Korea-ASEAN FTA operational certification procedures (OCP), and announced that the revisions will take effect on January 1, 2014.

Trade between Korea and the ASEAN member nations has grown by an average of 12.8 percent each year since the trade pact entered into force in 2007. Despite the increase in trade, however, Korean firms have experienced difficulties in taking advantage of the Korea-ASEAN FTA due to complex certification procedures. According to the revised rules, the duration of validity for the certificate of origin, which is currently only six months, will be extended to twelve months, and export companies will no longer be required to reveal sensitive information in the certificates.

* Source : Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Korea Development Institute, Economic Bulletin Vol.35 No.7 (July 2013).
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