Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) held their first implementation meeting for the Korea–Japan Supply Chain Partnership Arrangement (SCPA) in Tokyo on September 2, 2026, and discussed strengthening bilateral supply chain cooperation.

Signed by MOTIR and METI in March 2026, the Korea–Japan SCPA covers joint responses to supply chain disruptions, cooperation on critical minerals and other resources, and coordination on global trade issues. At their summit in May 2026, the leaders of Korea and Japan agreed to further strengthen cooperation under the SCPA to make supply chains in key industries more resilient.

At the meeting, the two sides shared their respective key policies for diversifying and stabilizing supply chains for critical minerals and discussed expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation. They agreed to continue deepening cooperation to ensure stable supplies of LNG, crude oil, and petroleum products in times of crisis. They also exchanged information on their respective responses to major economies’ tightening of carbon emissions and supply chain due diligence regulations, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and discussed future coordination. CBAM is designed to prevent carbon leakage by ensuring that selected carbon-intensive imports are subject to a carbon price equivalent to that applied to goods produced in the EU.

“Amid continued uncertainty in global supply chains, supply chain cooperation between Korea and Japan, two countries with similar industrial structures, is becoming increasingly important,” said Kim Jang-hee, Director General for Emerging Trade Strategy and Policy at MOTIR. “We will build on this first implementation meeting to develop the SCPA into a communication channel for devising practical measures for bilateral supply chain cooperation and delivering tangible outcomes.”