Industry Minister Visits US to Discuss Investment; Coupang Issue Likely on the Agenda

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan departed for the United States today (July 22) to discuss U.S. investments and trade pending issues.

Alongside detailing U.S. investment projects, discussions are expected to cover the Coupang issue, where differences persist between South Korea and the U.S., as well as U.S. Trade Act Section 301 tariffs.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Minister Kim will visit Washington, D.C., from today through July 25 to hold meetings with key figures from the U.S. administration and Congress.

Minister Kim plans to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss key bilateral issues, including investments in the U.S., and hold talks with Energy Secretary Chris Wright and others on ways to strengthen resource and energy cooperation between the two nations.

He will also continue outreach activities targeting the U.S. Congress and other sectors to enhance mutual understanding of South Korea-U.S. trade and investment issues.

As South Korea and the U.S. have continued discussions regarding the first U.S. investment project, Minister Kim aims to accelerate cooperation through this visit.

South Korea and the U.S. previously agreed to lower the U.S. reciprocal tariff from 25% to 15% on the condition of USD 350 billion in investments in the U.S.

While the government has not yet revealed specific business candidates, Cheong Wa Dae Chief Policy Officer Kim Yong-beom projected that the project would become visible around August to September.

The South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project, known as MASGA, is also gaining momentum.

Tomorrow, Minister Kim will attend the opening ceremony of the South Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center alongside key U.S. figures and representatives from South Korean and American shipbuilding companies.

The opening of the center is a follow-up measure to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the South Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative signed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the U.S. Department of Commerce last May. Both sides plan to support cooperative activities between shipbuilding companies of the two countries and discover outcomes through the center.

Minister Kim is also expected to address the Coupang issue and the imposition of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs.

With claims from the U.S. side that South Korea's investigation and response to Coupang's customer information leak constitute discriminatory measures, the Coupang issue has recently been pointed to as a factor of friction between South Korea and the U.S.

Regarding the Trade Act Section 301 tariffs that the U.S. seeks to introduce instead of global tariffs, the key issue is whether the 15 percent cap derived from the previous South Korea-U.S. trade agreement will be upheld.

Minister Kim stated, "Through this visit to the U.S., I will do my utmost to further flesh out the direction of investment projects and ensure that the bilateral trade agreement on tariffs is implemented without a hitch, thereby maintaining a stable trade relationship between the two countries."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.