Government Expands Contact with US... Discusses US Semiconductor Information Requests and Steel Tariff Solutions

Kim Jeong-il, Director of the New Trade Order Strategy Office at the Ministry of Industry, Visits Washington D.C. to Meet with U.S. Administration and Congressional Officials

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government is expanding its contacts with the United States to discuss trade issues such as the U.S. semiconductor information request and steel export restrictions.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 25th, Kim Jeong-il, Director of the New Trade Order Strategy Office at the Ministry, will visit Washington D.C. from today until the 27th to meet with key figures from the U.S. administration and Congress.

Director Kim is scheduled to meet with Jeremy Pelter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, to convey concerns about the leakage of trade secrets from Korean companies related to the recent U.S. government request for information on our semiconductor firms. Ahead of the anticipated U.S.-European Union (EU) steel Section 232 agreement on the 1st of next month, he plans to request that Korea be treated in a manner befitting its status as an ally. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act allows the U.S. to urgently restrict imports or impose high tariffs if certain imported goods are deemed a threat to national security; it was used as the basis for imposing steel tariffs during the Donald Trump administration.

He will also meet with Sarah Bianchi, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Michael Biman, Deputy Representative, and Juan Milan, Deputy Representative, to discuss holding the Korea-U.S. Trade-Supply Chain-Technology (TST) dialogue and review the agenda for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) joint committee meeting. They will also discuss bilateral cooperation measures to ensure the success of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and strengthen multilateral trade, as well as measures to advance WTO reform.

Additionally, at the White House, he will exchange views with Peter Harrell, Senior Director of the National Security Council (NSC), and Jennifer Harris, Senior Director, on bilateral supply chain cooperation and concerns about the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) becoming a trade barrier. In Congress, through meetings with senior staffers such as Sally Lang, Alexandra Whitaker, and Mayur Patel from both the House and Senate, he plans to raise issues including the potential violation of trade norms by the electric vehicle subsidy bill currently under discussion in the U.S. Congress.

Furthermore, through meetings with key figures and experts from major U.S. think tanks such as William Rynish, Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), he plans to broadly discuss response measures to recent changes in the trade environment.