The government will simplify the export process to activate reverse direct purchases of domestic goods.

The government will simplify the export process to activate reverse direct purchases by domestic companies against Chinese e-commerce forays such as Ali and Temu. It aims to support e-commerce exports by reducing the burden of customs clearance on companies.

According to the Korea Customs Service, on January 14, the Korea Customs Service recently announced an administrative notice regarding the “Amendment to the Notice on the Processing of Export and Customs Affairs.” The revised notification includes the government easing the burden of customs clearance on businesses to expand exports of e-commerce transactions.

In particular, a simple export reporting system for e-commerce will be developed. The standard amount for a simple export declaration, which can be easily included in trade finance or export performance, is currently 2 million won, but it has been decided to double it to 4 million won.

The Korea Customs Service said: “We will raise the standard amount to reflect changes in the economic level, such as rising prices and income levels, and to support Korean export companies by revitalizing simple e-commerce exports.”

The expansion of simplified reporting standards in e-commerce is interpreted as a strategy aimed at developing exports and countering the wave offensive of the Chinese platform. As the number of foreign consumers of Korean products increases, e-commerce exports are expected to increase more than currently if companies ease the burden of customs clearance.

In fact, although buried in China’s platform offensive, e-commerce exports through reverse direct purchases have quadrupled in the last four years. E-commerce exports rose to $2.32 billion last year from $563 million in 2019, according to the Korea Customs Service.

As of last year, Japan had the highest share of e-commerce export destination markets at 36.8%. The United States came in second place with 20.3 percent. China came in third place with 19.7 percent. The main e-commerce export items are cosmetics, electronic devices and clothing.