주요국의 무역정책에서 나타나는 환경 조치의 특성과 영향 : N-gram 분석을 중심으로

Environmental Measures in the Trade Policies of Major Economies: An N-gram Analysis Approach

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of environmental measures reflected in the trade policies of major economies—including Korea, the United States, Japan, China, and the European Union—and to draw relevant implications based on these findings. These characteristics are examined by extracting and analyzing networks of co-occurring environmental terms through N-gram analysis of each country’s trade policy documents. Research design, data, and methodology: For this study, research materials related to environmental measures were drawn from the Trade Policy Reviews(TPR) published by the World Trade Organization. The dataset covers the period from 2009 to 2022, during which the number of TPR documents analyzed were as follows: the United States(552, ranked 1st), the European Union(548, 2nd), China(516, 3rd), Japan(275, 6th), and Korea(263, 7th). As for the analytical method, this study employed the N-gram technique, one of the core methods in text mining, to examine the co-occurrence structures of environmental terms within each country’s trade policy discourse. Results: The main findings of this study are as follows. In the case of Korea, the TPR co-occurrence network is segmented into approximately seven relatively small clusters. Within these clusters, ‘energy’ serves as the central node, connecting to terms such as ‘government’, ‘transportation’, ‘transition’, ‘regeneration’, ‘environmental tax’, and ‘efficiency’. The United States exhibits a highly integrated network structure, where terms such as ‘illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing’, ‘fishing’, ‘regulation’, ‘illegal’, and ‘logging’ are connected through central nodes such as ‘agreement’ and ‘program’. In Japan, the network is divided into three main clusters, with the most cohesive cluster centered on the connection between ‘energy’ and ‘environment’. China’s network consists of one large, cohesive cluster along with several smaller ones. The detailed structure places ‘energy’ at the center, with related terms distributed in a tightly connected pattern. Similarly, the European Union presents a single, highly cohesive network, with ‘European Union’, ‘energy’, and ‘trade’ as its central nodes. Implications: The implications of this study, interpreted by country, are as follows. First, Korea emphasizes specific themes—such as energy, environmental taxes, and protection—while strategically documenting its regulatory intentions to c larify i ts s tance to trading p artners. S econd, the United States exhibits a large, unified network characterized by strong internal consistency and interconnectivity, reflecting a systemic and coordinated approach. Third, Japan, similar to Korea, addresses environmental measures within relatively separate policy domains, with its network reflecting a risk-averse regulatory orientation. Fourth, China’s centralized governance is evident in the network’s focus on energy and environment, suggesting sustainability is framed as a top-down national agenda. Fifth, the European Union presents a highly cohesive network centered on the EU, energy, and trade, indicating its effort to ensure policy coherence across member states.