Expensive medicines and medical devices to expand into the EU are also discussed.
The government requested that the European Union (EU) promptly permit the export of the vaccine so that the supply and demand of the vaccine for Corona 19 would be smoothly carried out around the world.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 19th that it held a video conference on the 9th Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Medicines and Medical Devices Working Group and discussed these contents.
At the meeting, the Korean side emphasized that in response to Corona 19, Korea and the EU should strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and continue to make efforts to facilitate trade in essential medical supplies.
Specifically, they requested that the EU’s Corona 19 vaccine export permit system and the Digital Green Certificate system do not lead to trade and movement restrictions.
Currently, vaccine-producing companies in the EU must obtain export licenses from member states and the EU Commission when exporting outside the country, and requested that this process be expedited.
The vaccination certificate is issued to EU residents who have been vaccinated or recently tested negative in the diagnostic test, and the EU Commission announced the relevant legislation on the 17th.
In addition, the Korean side requested that the KF94 mask be cooperated to be included as a wearable mask in the EU.
Some EU member states such as Germany and France are obligated to wear masks in public places and are imposing a fine for not wearing them, but some countries (states) do not include KF94 masks in the wearable masks.
The Korean side also suggested that the temporary confidentiality agreement for the treatment and vaccine for Corona 19, which was signed in June, should be upgraded to a formal agreement to enable constant and stable information exchange.
This agreement is the content that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) share confidential information related to the development of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
In order to expand the entry of Korean medical products into the EU market, they also delivered an opinion to actively provide relevant information, such as insurance benefits and follow-up measures for expensive medicines and medical devices.
The two sides plan to improve the issues discussed on the day and make efforts to achieve results at the Korea-EU FTA trade committee to be held in Brussels next month.
According to the Ministry of Industry, the amount of trade between Korea and the EU in the field of medicines and medical devices is steadily increasing.
The EU exports of Korean pharmaceuticals and medical devices increased from $1.22 billion in 2014 to $2,293 billion in 2019.
Exports of quarantine products increased from 24 million dollars in 2015 to 75 million dollars in 2019.
In particular, last year, as the exports of K-quarantine products related to Corona 19 increased sharply, the exports of medicines and medical devices increased to $4,673 billion, and the exports of quarantine products increased to $759 million.
/yunhap news