Chief Negotiator Visits U.S. to Discuss Indo-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Steel Industry Worth 232 Trillion Won

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 25th that Yeohangu, the Chief Negotiator for Trade, will visit Washington D.C., USA, until the 2nd of next month to strengthen trade cooperation between Korea and the United States.

During his visit to the U.S., Chief Yeoh will meet with key figures from the U.S. administration, members of both the House and Senate, governors, think tanks, and industry representatives. On the 27th, a face-to-face meeting with Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), is scheduled.

Our side plans to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional trade cooperation measures with the U.S. to respond to new trade agendas such as supply chains, technology, digital issues, and climate change. Consultations related to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) initiative will also continue. IPEF is a comprehensive economic cooperation initiative for the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region announced by President Joe Biden in October last year. It is widely analyzed as an economic alliance aimed at countering China, effectively forming an 'anti-China front.' Our government’s position is to closely discuss with the U.S. side to understand the detailed contents of IPEF and, from the perspective of maximizing national interests, comprehensively consider the economic cooperation effects, impacts on Korean companies, and positions of major countries to decide on participation and the level of cooperation.

Chief Yeoh will also conduct public-private outreach activities to initiate negotiations for improving measures under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act related to steel. The U.S. imposes tariffs or import restrictions based on Section 232 on foreign steel, and recently proposed steel tariff measures more favorable to the European Union (EU) and Japan than to Korea.

The government has continuously conveyed opinions to the U.S. government requesting an expansion of quotas and flexibility in the operation of quotas for Korean steel, but there has been no progress so far.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.