Yeo Han-koo, head of the Office of the Minister for Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, who is visiting the United States, decided on the 14th (local time) to postpone his return to determine whether a semiconductor-related proclamation signed by U.S. President Donald Trump will affect Korean corporations.
The Deputy Minister met reporters at Union Station in Washington, D.C., the same day and said, "Since the president issued an executive order related to semiconductors and critical minerals, I plan to stay one more day to get a better sense of the situation." The Deputy Minister was to travel to New York that day and take a night flight back to Korea, but postponed it.
The Deputy Minister said, "Because we are in the process of reviewing it closely, it is difficult to say anything hastily right now," adding, "The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and industry are working together to analyze (the impact on Korean corporations)."
He added, "We want to stay about one more day to determine what impact this has on us, and whether we need to gather additional information in the United States and meet with U.S. counterparts."
On the same day, President Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 25% tariff on semiconductors such as Nvidia's artificial intelligence (AI) chip "H200" that are imported into the United States and then re-exported to other countries.
This follows the U.S. Department of Commerce's submission on Dec. 22 last year of an "investigation report on the impact of semiconductor imports on U.S. national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act."
In a fact sheet, the White House said, "President Trump may impose broader tariff on imports of semiconductors and derivative products in the near future to encourage manufacturing in the United States and may introduce a corresponding tariff offset program."
Meanwhile, President Trump also signed a proclamation stating that he may initiate negotiations with trading partners to ensure that imports of critical minerals are carried out in a manner consistent with U.S. security, and, depending on the outcome, consider measures such as setting minimum import prices for certain critical minerals.