The trade ministry on Monday convened a meeting of a specialized committee under the South Korea-European Union(EU) free trade agreement(FTA) and shared views on policies and bills being discussed for carbon neutral industries.

At the meeting of the Committee on Trade in Goods, South Korea stressed that the EU’s battery regulations, Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net Zero Industry Act must avoid burdening businesses and be applied in a nondiscriminatory manner.

South Korea also called on the EU to minimize uncertainties for businesses by swiftly enacting laws related to the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which was put into effect on May 27.

Since its effectuation 12 years ago, the South Korea-EU FTA has played a key role in bilateral trade and investment amid economic uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflation.

Last year, the EU, which is South Korea’s third largest trading partner, saw trade volume with the nation reach a record 136-point-three billion U.S. dollars following an increase in exports of South Korea’s petroleum products and intermediate goods.