Australia-Korea: Strengthened Economic Partnership

Conclusions

Based on the discussion in the previous chapters, the following table shows for each industry sector the relative importance of the key cross-sectoral issues that have arisen in the research for this report.

6.1.  Importance of issues by sector

SECTORS	ISSUES
	Australian Profile	Intellectual Property	Standards and Compliance	Commercialization of Technology	Investment	Making Connections
Agriculture			XX		XXX	XX
Minerals & Energy					XXX
STMs					XX
ETMs	XXX	XXX	XXXX	XXXX	XXX	XX
ICT	XXXX	XXXX		XXXX	XXX	XXX
Biotechnology	XXXXX	XXX		XXXX	XXX	XXX
Environment Technology	XXXX	XXXX		XXXX	XXX	XXX
Education & Training Services	XXXXX	X	X		XX	XXX
Other services (infrastructure)	XXX	XX		XX	XXX	XXX

• Note: The number of Xs reflects the relative importance of each issue ranging from apparently no importance where there is no X to very important where there are five Xs.

6.2.  General Initiative

This study has identified a number of initiatives that could be undertaken to strengthen the economic partnership between Australia and Korea. These are brought together in the following section.

Most of these initiatives are quite specific and relate to issues of importance to the more technology intensive sectors, e.g. intellectual property, standards and compliance, technology workshops and clusters, a cooperative agreement on education and training, etc.

While it would be possible to pursue these initiatives separately, the opportunity could be taken to bring them under the umbrella of an overarching economic framework agreement between Australia and Korea.

There are already a number of quite specific economic agreements/memoranda of understanding between Australia and Korea at the government level as well as at the industry level. At the government level these include agreements/MOU on trade, double tax, science and technology, customs, quarantine, etc.

The Agreement on the Development of Trade and Economic Relations between Australia and Korea was signed in 1975. It would be opportune to develop a new agreement that reflects contemporary and future realities. The various initiatives suggested in this report could be brought under a new agreement such as a Trade and Investment Facilitation Agreement (TIFA) to allow for consistency in their treatment.

A TIFA can be as broad and comprehensive as the parties wish it to be — it can be viewed as an umbrella agreement enabling the parties to include sectoral and cross-cutting issues that they both agree would boost the economic links between the two parties. Because of its "framework" nature, there can be subsidiary agreements under the umbrella of a TIFA; new agreements can be added as new areas of cooperation are developed.

A TIFA would not involve border discrimination in trade and can be negotiated in a way that does not preclude other economies from signing on to the agreement — as a whole or in part.

Economic sectors that might be included in a TIFA are:

• Information and Communications Technology
• Biotechnology
• Environment Technology
• Education and Training
• Infrastructure
• Other services (e.g. banking and finance, business services)

Cross-sectoral issues that might be included in a TIFA are:

• Standards and regulatory harmonisation
• Quarantine
• Customs
• E-commerce
• Intellectual property rights
• Investment protection guidelines
• Access by professionals between Australia and Korea

The adoption of such an approach reflects the situation where the economic relationship between Australia and Korea has moved beyond trade to encompass other economic relations such as investment and technology development.

6.3.  Specific Initiatives

The following conclusion was reached in regard to agriculture and food/minerals and energy:

Initiatives could be taken by the Government to promote closer linkages between Korean and Australian participants in the minerals and energy and agriculture and food sectors by way of e-commerce, closer investment linkages, training in Australian food standards and conformance systems, and person to person contacts.

The following conclusion was reached in regard to manufactures:

Initiatives can be taken by the Government to facilitate stronger linkages between Australia and Korea in ETMs, for example:

• Examining the possibility of a bilateral arrangement between Australia and Korea where the Governments would undertake to try and harmonise their approach to the implementation of intellectual property protection. The implementation could include a Code of Practice and possibly a joint forum that would consider tangible issues raised by Australian and Korean firms about infringements of their intellectual property rights.
• While there were mixed views among Australian industry about the benefits of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs), there is support for mechanisms to be put in place that are similar to MRAs. These can be addressed on an industry-by-industry basis rather than across the board. In the communications equipment area, there is support for a bilateral arrangement between Australia and Korea that harmonises or at least moves towards a more common compliance regime for obtaining approvals for equipment in this industry sector.

The following conclusion was reached in regard to technology:

Linkages need to be developed throughout the industrial/commercial chain in the technology segments, including close links with the education and training sector. There are some linkages through the Australia-Korea Business Council and its Korean counterpart, but these linkages are mainly in the traditional trade areas of minerals and agriculture. What is needed are effective linkages in the newly emerging sectors. These sectors are primarily in the technology intensive areas, but should be closely linked with the education and training sector because of the role of that sector in assisting the development of the Australian profile.

Workshops should be held in specific technology segments that include people who are responsible for the commercialisation and marketing of newly developed technologies. The workshops can discuss issues such as —

• what is available in Korea and what are Korea’s needs;
• what is available in Australia and what are Australia’s needs;
• what are the strategic directions in Korea and Australia in the different segments of technology and in their commercialisation; and
• what are the needs and strategic directions of other countries in the Asia Pacific region such as Singapore as well as the major markets of China and Japan.

If the workshops in particular segments are successful they could lead to the creation of a Korean/Australian "cluster" in particular industry segments that would include in each cluster:

• relevant firms from each country;
• relevant R&D agencies;
• education and training institutions;
• financial services institutions;
• legal services; and
• product development and marketing specialists.

Initially, the clusters do not need to be created on a very formal basis. The major task is to get the participants talking together and to be linked by some form of intranet. Some seed funding may be needed to promote the clusters, for example, the Australia-Korea Foundation could expand its activities in the technology sectors to include the sponsoring of the workshops and clusters. If they are successful, they could be developed into more formalised fora where the Governments of Korea and Australia could also participate; this would allow joint industry/government discussion of issues affecting the particular sector.

The following conclusions were reached in regard to education and training services:

(i)  a coordinated, long-term strategy be adopted involving the Australian Government and educational institutions to capture the attention of Korean Government and educational decision makers as to the quality and relevance of the Australian education and training system and products to the human resources development needs of Korea.

(ii)  a Government to Government cooperative agreement be reached whereby Australia agrees to provide advice to Korean authorities and institutions on developing Korea’s new human resources development system and introducing Australian institutions that can provide the particular systems and courses that meet Korea’s needs.

(iii)  There is a need in Korea for many types of courses that can be provided by Australia.

(iv)  The use of scholarships and work placements be introduced for Korean postgraduate students in Australia as a longer term means to raise the general profile of Australian education and training among younger Koreans and to build a counterweight to the usual attraction of postgraduate students to the USA.

(v)  The building of Australian alumni groups in Korea be supported.

(vi)  The education and training sector should work closely with other sectors, especially those in the high technology sectors.

The following conclusion was reached in regard to infrastructure and utilities:

There are many opportunities in these sectors and Australian organisations are already winning business. The major Government role is one of promoting the capabilities of Australia generally and particular companies in these areas.

In relation to other services, there are opportunities in professional services, particularly those related to the modernisation and reform of Korea’s infrastructure and utilities and as a result of the reforms to the commercial structure of businesses in Korea.

< Cross Sectoral Issues Recommendations >

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Local Date: Thursday, 04-Dec-2008 18:16:03 EST

This page last modified: Thursday, 15-Jan-2004 14:37:46 EST