Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources met with key members of the U.S. administration to discuss a U.S.-focused strategic investment project and trade issues.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said on the 19th that Minister Kim visited Washington, D.C., from the 16th to the 19th (local time) and met with key figures in the Trump administration. In particular, on the 17th and 18th, he met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to seek common ground while coordinating major sticking points and the timeline for the U.S.-focused strategic investment project. It was their first meeting in about three weeks since a meeting in July.
In last year's U.S.-Korea tariff talks, Korea agreed to a U.S. investment package totaling $350 billion, including $200 billion in strategic investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding investment, and is currently conducting detailed negotiations to select the first investment project.
On the 19th, Minister Kim also met with Jamieson Greer, head of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), to discuss bilateral trade issues, including the Section 301 investigation under U.S. trade law. He also asked that the consultation channel between the U.S. and Korea's trade authorities be run stably. Last month, under Section 301 of U.S. trade law, the United States imposed a 12.5% tariff related to forced labor on Korea and is currently conducting a Section 301 investigation over excess production.
In addition, he is scheduled to meet with Russell Vought, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to discuss follow-up measures to President Trump's recently released policy to rebuild the shipbuilding industrial base and ways to strengthen U.S.-Korea cooperation in shipbuilding.
An official at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said, "We plan to respond proactively so that trade relations between the U.S. and Korea remain stable and the balance of benefits achieved by last year's tariff agreement is maintained."