Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Ku Yoon-chul said on the 6th that he has "avoided the worst-case scenario" regarding tariff negotiations with the United States, while stating his position on the introduction of tax incentives for domestic manufacturing and the possibility of additional opening of agricultural markets.
At the full meeting of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly that day, Deputy Prime Minister Ku noted that he is "reviewing it with experts" regarding the tax incentives to increase domestic production, known as the "Korean version of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)," adding that "as soon as the review is completed, the government will ensure that it is prepared to take action where it can."
In response to the point that companies entering the U.S. market need to push for tariff-free benefits on related items when they invest in local facilities, he stated, "I will request this additionally when negotiating with the United States."
Along with this, regarding the "humiliating negotiation" criticism raised by the opposition concerning the recent tariff negotiation results, he rebutted, saying, "It's not that the public would regard it as well done, but I have avoided the worst-case scenario within the scope of what I can do."
He made it clear that there was no additional market opening regarding the demand to expand U.S. agricultural product imports. Deputy Prime Minister Ku explained, "There was actually nothing that was additionally opened through the tariff negotiations" and added, "The intent was to rationalize the import procedural aspects."
He added, "The import procedure has eight stages, and there were complaints that it takes too long from the United States" and explained, "This means we will rationalize the procedures so that we can acquire information on infectious diseases and epidemics more quickly using artificial intelligence (AI)." He stressed, "I want to make clear that this does not mean that we will additionally increase market opening."