▲ Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (E Today DB)
Among the new coronavirus infectious disease (Corona 19) vaccines that the government has purchased from global pharmaceutical companies, it has asked the EU for a prompt export permission so that the vaccines produced in the European Union (EU) countries can be supplied to Korea without disruption.
On the 19th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a meeting with the EU and the ‘9th Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Medicines and Medical Devices Working Group’ on the 19th.
At the meeting, the Korean government emphasized, “Health is a global problem such as climate change, so in response to Corona 19, both sides will strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and continue to strive to facilitate trade in essential medical supplies.”
In particular, it requested that the EU’s Corona 19 vaccine export permit system and the Digital Green Certificate system, which proves whether or not to be vaccinated, do not lead to restrictions on trade and movement. Currently, vaccine-producing companies in the EU must obtain export permits from member states and the EU Commission for exports outside the country.
Along with this, the Korean government asked for a prompt export permission so that there would be no disruption in the supply and demand of the amount of vaccines produced in the EU among the vaccines purchased by the Korean government.
In addition, the Korean government requested cooperation to include Korean-made masks (KF94) as wearable masks in the EU, and a temporary confidentiality agreement signed in June last year related to COVID-19 treatment and vaccines was officially agreed to enable constant and stable information exchange. I suggested to set it as.
In addition, in order to expand the entry of domestic medical products into the EU market, it requested related information from the EU, such as insurance benefits and follow-up measures for expensive pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and emphasized the importance of active and transparent information sharing.
The two sides decided to continue to develop the issues discussed on the day and endeavor to achieve results at the Korea-EU FTA trade committee to be held in Brussels next month.