A measure on the basic act to support the stabilization of supply chains for economic security, initiated by Rep. Yoo Sung-kull, and a bill on the revision of the Act on the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), were approved by the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee on Aug. 27.
Legislation on the basic act in support of the stabilization of supply chains for economic security is designed to prevent the dangers of supply chains, feared to be caused by inside and outside factors, and lay the legal groundwork for the government to effectively cope.
The bill stipulates the establishment of a supply chain stabilization committee under the control of the deputy prime minister, minister of economy and finance, drawing a master plan for stabilizing supply chains for economic security every three years, designating economic security items, diversifying import countries of economic security items, and offering support, such as the strengthening of internal and external production centers, drawing crisis response manuals.
The measure on the revision of KEXIM contains regulations on KEXIM’s responsibilities, such as fund management, operation and support to ensure the stable operation of a fund on the stabilizing of supply chains.
Rep. Yoo said, “As countries around the world are scrambling for weaponizing resources, we have to brace for it in a thorough fashion by laying legal ground for stabilizing supply chains.”
Yoo said President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized the importance of security of supply chains and he was grateful for ruling and opposition parties to agree to pass the bill on the legislation and the revision bill on KEXIM.
Yoo added that he would redouble efforts until they passed the remaining screening procedures and their legislation is completed.
Rep. Yoo Submits Bills to Revise Act on Tariffs and Act on Restriction of Special Taxation
Rep. Yoo Sung-kull became a chief author of measures to amend the Act on Tariffs and the Act on the Restriction of Special Taxation on Aug. 2.
The bills were designed to ease burdens in an environment of high prices, high interests rates and high currency exchange rates.
The bill on the revision of the Act on Tariffs stipulates regulations that would change the foreign exchange buying or selling rate for imposing tariffs to the basic exchange rate or the exchange arbitrage rate, allowing Korean companies to benefit from an about 1 percent tariff decline.
The foreign exchange buying or selling rate is applied to commercial banks’ selling foreign curries to customers.
The rate is set about 1 percent higher than the basic exchange rate or the exchange arbitrage rate since the former includes fees and various costs.
The measure on the Act on the Restriction of Special Taxation contains the prolonging of sunset regulations of the act on Korean entities’ tax exemption on contributions to the agro-fishery shared-growth fund and cooperatives’ special taxation on corporate income tax from Dec. 31, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2025.
Views have been raised that the renewal of sunset regulations of the act was necessary to give a leg-up to farming households struggling with hardships, such as recent grain price hikes.
Rep. Yoo said, “Amidst ever-worsening internal and external economic conditions, such as the disruption of supply chains and raw material price hike, import institutions and the agriculture sectors, particularly, suffer from hardships, and the revision measures are hoped to help the related businesses ease their burden.”
_류성걸 의원.jpg)
