Further Trade Liberalization Key to Sustaining Growth

Further Trade Liberalization Key to Sustaining Growth

Anne Krueger
By Park Hyong-ki
Staff Reporter


Korea will be able to achieve rapid globalization if it further liberalizes its market for freer flow of trade in goods and services.

Anne Krueger, a former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Korea's record in globalization has been good so far and its policy on trade liberalization has been pragmatic. But more openness will definitely boost the country's efficiency, productivity and standard of living, she said.

``Globalization has large economic benefits, and without it, Korea's phenomenal economic success would not have been possible,'' said Krueger at a seminar in Seoul hosted by the Institute for Global Economics and the Korea International Trade Association. Krueger also served as vice president of the World Bank.

Krueger, a professor of international economics at Johns Hopkins University, came to Seoul to share ideas with trade officials on ways to increase economic integration with global economies, as Korea reached $700 billion in trade this year.

She said a free trade agreement with the United States is a positive move, and ``can't hurt'' the country's efforts in trade liberalization.

The economist noted that such efforts are more needed nowadays with the advancement of logistics and communications, which have brought global economies closer together and helped boost international trade.

She said although trade is not the ultimate solution to sustainability, the history of Korea's economy shows that it achieved huge gains by adopting trade as its ``growth engine.'' Innovation along with this has increased its GDP growth, per capita income and well-being, helping Korea become a rich nation from one of the poorest.

``No one who even looks at Korean economic history can doubt the major role that trade opening and integration with the world economy played,'' she said.

She said a country that is inner-oriented and refrains from seeking synergy through economic integration will fall behind in joining the international community.

Krueger advised the government to be flexible in developing policies and regulatory frameworks. She added that it should strengthen its ability to cope with the fast-changing environment in trade and to level the playing field, instead of spending time in picking industry winners or losers to subsidize them.

She also stressed that more efforts are needed in providing education on trade and globalization in the country.

phk@koreatimes.co.kr