The free trade deal between China and Asia’s fourth-largest economy went into effect on Dec. 20, 2015, with tariffs on about 90 percent of goods to be eventually removed over the next two decades. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea and China have agreed to expand the mutual certification of electronics and electrical products on the occasion of the first anniversary of their free trade deal, a government agency said Tuesday.
The agreement calls for the exemption of 104 electronics and electrical goods from obtaining a mandatory product-quality certificate from Chinese authorities, dubbed the China Compulsory Certification (CCC), once they are certified in South Korea, according to the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the trade ministry.
Both sides have initially agreed to apply the mutual certification system to six products and expand it to 104 products subject to CCC and 173 goods that should pass tests by South Korea’s state certification agency, it added.
CCC, introduced in 2002, requires imported goods to undergo a test by certification bodies designated by the Chinese government. It has been cited as a large burden to South Korean exporters since they have to pay a considerable fee for the process that takes about three months.
In the runup to the certification deal, Seoul and Beijing reached an agreement on cooperation in mutual certification in September last year and inked a preliminary pact in March this year.
The KATS expressed hope that the mutual certification deal will help boost bilateral trade and enable companies to enter each market by eliminating technical barriers to trade.
The free trade deal between China and Asia’s fourth-largest economy went into effect on Dec. 20, 2015, with tariffs on about 90 percent of goods to be eventually removed over the next two decades.
The free trade pact came as the two Asian economic powers had seen a marked increase in their bilateral trade volume since they established diplomatic ties in 1992. Seoul and Beijing are poised to launch follow-up negotiations on the service and investment sectors next year.
(Yonhap)
