<국회 외통위, Adoption of Resolution on Concerns over US Inflation Reduction Act's Tax Discrimination Against Korean Electric Vehicles (Comprehensive)>

Foreign Affairs Committee Judges Violation of Korea-US FTA
Serious Concerns, Urges Active Negotiations with US Government

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Lee Do-hoon, the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced on the 30th that regarding the United States' 'Inflation Reduction Act' (IRA), which provides subsidies only for electric vehicles finally assembled in North America, “a provisional measure to defer discriminatory measures against Korean electric vehicles until 2025 has been proposed to the U.S. side.”

On the same day, Lee appeared before the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and responded to Jeong Jin-seok, a member of the People Power Party, who pointed out that “we should strongly demand the U.S. to defer this law until Hyundai Motor's local factory is completed in 2025,” saying, “You have pointed out exactly right.”

Lee added, “Foreign Minister Park Jin also conveyed this to the U.S. side,” and “I have also proposed a kind of provisional measure until 2025.”

Hyundai Motor plans to complete its electric vehicle factory in Georgia, USA, by 2025. Accordingly, inside and outside the government expect that if the application of the IRA to Korean electric vehicles is deferred only until this point, the damage caused by the enforcement of the law can be minimized.

On the 26th, Foreign Minister Park met with Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who was visiting Korea, and urged efforts to promptly prepare possible solutions such as exemption or suspension of discriminatory measures.

When Lee Sang-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, “The core of the U.S. global strategy is to check China by allying with allies, and the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is actively cooperating, so isn't this like slapping us in the face?” Lee Do-hoon said, “We continue to emphasize to the U.S. that we are a key partner in the Korea-U.S. alliance and economic security cooperation.”

Meanwhile, the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee passed a resolution on the morning of the 30th expressing strong concerns that the U.S. 'Inflation Reduction Act' (IRA) violates the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The committee held a plenary meeting and adopted the “Resolution Urging U.S. Tax Support for Korean Electric Vehicles Based on the Korea-U.S. FTA,” which calls for equal tax support for Korean electric vehicles.

The resolution states that the IRA’s discriminatory tax benefits applied to imported electric vehicles and batteries are judged to violate the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and expresses serious concerns about this.

It also includes calls for active negotiations with the U.S. government to ensure that Korean companies are not unfairly treated or harmed during the export process of electric vehicles and batteries to the U.S.

This resolution was prepared as an alternative at the committee level based on the “Resolution Urging the Prohibition of Discriminatory Tax Support for Imported Electric Vehicles and Batteries by the U.S.” proposed by Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 19th.

The National Assembly plans to create an amendment that consolidates this resolution, passed by the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, with a similar resolution passed by the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Business Committee, and handle it as a single agenda item in the plenary session in the future.

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