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By Lee Hyo-sik
Korea has filed a formal complaint with a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel against Beijing for its economic retaliation against Seoul's decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system here.
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), affiliated with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said Sunday that it raised issues with China's trade barriers against Korean companies during a WTO meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, from March 28 to 30.
This was the first time for the government to officially take issue with China's retaliatory actions against Lotte group and other Korean companies operating in the world's No. 2 economy.
The agency asked the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) committee to deal with three trade barriers imposed by Beijing as specific trade concerns. WTO member countries can request the TBT committee to review trade policies taken by trading partners as to whether they impede imports of certain goods.
KATS filed a complaint against China's policies restricting the sales of baby formula and medical equipment by foreign businesses.
Last October, the Chinese government began allowing each baby formula maker to sell only nine products under three brands. The companies were also obliged to register their products with the China Food and Drug Administration, and the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China.
The measure was widely viewed as Beijing's retaliation against Asia's fourth-largest economy at the time because made-in-Korea baby formula products had gained immense popularity among Chinese consumers, despite higher price tags, as they do not trust the quality of those manufactured by Chinese firms.
According to KATS, three Korean firms exported 98 products to China before the restriction.
In addition, Korea lodged a complaint that Beijing collects a registration fee from non-Chinese medical equipment makers, double that for Chinese manufacturers.
Beijing has also been blamed for not recognizing internationally accredited certificates, forcing foreign medical equipment firms to separately obtain approval from the Chinese government.
During the latest TBT committee meeting, Chinese officials did not clarify their stance on Korea's requests, according to KATS, which said it will raise the issue again at the next TBT gathering in June.
Following Seoul's announcement last year that it would allow the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, China has virtually banned its people from visiting Korea, as well as blocking Korean entertainers from performing there.
It has also erected a range of nontariff trade barriers to disrupt the imports of Korean cosmetics and other popular consumer products.
Lotte Group, which offered its golf resort as the THAAD site, has been a primary target of Beijing's campaign against the deployment.
Nearly all of Lotte Mart's 99 stores in China have been forced to close by the authorities. The world's most populous country also ordered its tourists not to visit Lotte duty free stores and other tourism-related facilities operated by Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate.
