Deputy Minister Lee Do-hoon Requests Cooperation on 'IRA' from U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary

Lee Do-hoon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meets with US Treasury Deputy Secretary on the 14th
Discusses Issues of Korean Electric Vehicles Related to the Inflation Reduction Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Lee Do-hoon, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is visiting the United States, met with Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, on the 14th (local time) to discuss issues including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 15th that Vice Minister Lee reiterated the Korean government's position on the IRA and requested cooperation to ensure that it is well considered during the Treasury Department's rulemaking process.

The U.S. IRA, which took effect in August, provides subsidies in the form of tax credits only for electric vehicles finally assembled in North America. The U.S. Treasury Department plans to announce related subordinate regulations by the end of the year.

Our government is requesting measures such as a grace period for the implementation of the IRA's electric vehicle-related regulations to resolve the issue of discrimination against Korean-made electric vehicles.

Vice Minister Lee and Deputy Secretary Adeyemo agreed on the need to build resilient clean supply chains in response to international challenges such as the pandemic, the Ukraine crisis, and the climate emergency. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed that they agreed to work together on this in the medium to long term between Korea and the U.S.

Earlier, Vice Minister Lee met with Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the previous day and requested that the State Department also take an interest and cooperate to ensure that Korea's position is reflected in the Treasury Department's subordinate regulations related to the IRA.

Vice Minister Lee also met with members of both houses of Congress, including Representative Jimmy Gomez, Senator Raphael Warnock, Representative Terri Sewell, and Representative Earl "Buddy" Carter.

Senator Warnock and Representative Sewell each introduced bills in the Senate and House, respectively, proposing a three-year delay for the IRA's electric vehicle-related provisions.

Representative Carter joined as a co-sponsor of the House IRA amendment bill. Representative Gomez is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Vice Minister Lee asked them about the prospects for congressional discussions and legislative amendments following the introduction of the IRA amendment bills and urged continued interest and efforts from lawmakers in the new session to fundamentally resolve the issue.

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