한중 FTA 원산지 규정의 특징과 엄격성 지수에 대한 연구

Abstract

This paper analyzed restrictiveness of rules of origin in the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and China, using a method developed by Estevadeordal (2000). It turned out that the restrictiveness index is 4.43, lower than the Korea-Chile FTA (4.82), Korea-ASEAN FTA (4.59), and Korea-EFTA FTA (4.53). This could be because both Korea and China have been strongly integrated with each other, without having an institutional framework such as an FTA, by establishing and actively participating in regional value chains in East Asia. In addition, using simple regression, this work has shown that there is a negative relationship between the trade balance of Korea and China and the restrictiveness of rules of origin. This implies that the restrictiveness index of a commodity is likely to be lower if Korea’s trade balance in the commodity increases. Given the results of this research, one can provide policy recommendations for the Korean government, by asking it to establish training programs to educate staff responsible for documentation of rules of origin in exporting companies, in order to fully utilize potential benefits from the Korea-China FTA.