Republic of Korea: Trade finance measures to promote exports of "green" products
Description
On 12 May 2011, in a press release describing a seminar organised by the Korean Eximbank for "domestic green companies," it was revealed that "Korea Eximbank plans to provide a total of KRW 40 trillion to the green growth industry by 2015 and assist 50 Korean green companies become leading exporters under the 'Action Plan for Leading the Green Export Industry.'"
The press releases goes on to note "To this end, the Bank is actively making efforts to identify and support pilot projects applying market-leading financial products such as direct investment, composite finance, independent PF, etc. in order to assist Korean companies secure business opportunities in overseas green markets."
Moreover, the Executive Director of the Korea Eximbank acknowledged that lessons learnt from supporting other Korean export industries would be applied to green products. Ki Sub Nam is reported to have said "The Bank provided various financial supports to assist domestic shipbuilding and plant companies grow into global corporations. Utilizing the knowledge gained from such experiences, the Bank will implement strategies to simultaneously support the entry of domestic green enterprises into offshore markets and develop domestic market foundation to assist the green sector become Korea’s leading export industry."
Such measures will disadvantage foreign exporters of green products that compete with subsidised Korean firms. On 6 July 2011 forty trillion Korean won was worth over 37 billion US dollars.
In an earlier (2 May 2011) press release the Korean Eximbank stated "the Bank is determined to nurture 50 global green industry exporters of which, 10 companies are hoped to become leading players in the green industry and 40 are hoped to become green Korean hidden champions, each with over USD 300 million in export volume."
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered: 06/07/2011
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 12 May 2011
GTA Evaluation: Red
Source:
"Solar & Wind Power Seminar for Expansion into Overseas Markets Co-hosted by Korea Eximbank and KNREA" 12 May 2011. Press release found at www.koreaexim.go.kr
"Korea Eximbank Strengthens Position as the Leading Institution for Green Export Finance (Part 2)." 2 May 2011. Press release found at www.koreaexim.go.kr
Government Response:
- 263 reads
