Industry ministry to find new area of cooperation with US in 2025

First Vice Trade Minister Park Sung-taek speaks throughout a gathering on the Authorities Advanced in Seoul, offered by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Vitality, Dec. 20, 2024. Yonhap

Korea plans to discover new areas of cooperation with the USA and reply promptly to potential adjustments in U.S. commerce insurance policies following the launch of the second Donald Trump administration later this month, the trade ministry mentioned Wednesday.

The Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Vitality outlined the coverage path for this 12 months throughout a briefing to performing President Choi Sang-mok.

In the course of the briefing, the ministry mentioned it plans to implement „well-coordinated“ responses to the altering commerce setting via common conferences on exterior financial affairs chaired by the performing president.

The transfer comes as Trump has vowed to carry important adjustments to Washington’s commerce insurance policies, together with the potential discount or elimination of the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Discount Act.

„Korea and the U.S. have been growing a mutually useful commerce relationship, with Korea turning into the largest investor within the U.S. in 2023,“ mentioned First Vice Trade Minister Park Sung-taek.

„We plan to clarify such points (to Washington) to have Korea excluded from new tariff measures,“ Park added.

The federal government is planning to discover new areas of cooperation with the USA and is getting ready to launch an interagency job power to strengthen ties within the shipbuilding trade, a sector Trump hinted at prioritizing for collaboration with Korea after taking workplace.

Korea may even improve the function of the Korea Commerce Fee to increase investigations on merchandise dumped into the home market.

To take care of the momentum within the nation’s exports, the ministry may even supply report commerce funds value 360 trillion gained ($247 billion), together with different help to exporters for his or her advertising initiatives.

Extra detailed measures to advertise exports are anticipated to be unveiled in February, it added. Korea’s exports superior 8.2 % on-year in 2024, setting a brand new annual report of $683.8 billion.

„This 12 months, exports are anticipated to remain low within the first half and later get better,“ Park mentioned. „The federal government will allocate all obtainable sources within the first half of the 12 months, as we anticipate a focus of unfavorable elements throughout this era.“

Korea plans to speed up efforts to signal further commerce pacts with new companions, together with Malaysia, Thailand and Mongolia, to diversify its commerce portfolio this 12 months, the ministry mentioned.

The ministry may even deal with finalizing ongoing negotiations for a nuclear plant undertaking within the Czech Republic.

A Korean consortium, led by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Energy, was chosen as the popular bidder in July to construct two reactors on the Czech Republic’s Dukovany energy plant, with the ultimate contract anticipated to be signed in March.

As well as, Korea will make efforts to make sure progress within the East Sea gasoline exploration undertaking, the place the primary drilling operation started final month to seek for an estimated 3.5 billion to 14 billion barrels of oil and gasoline. (Yonhap)