IPEF first ministerial meeting held in LA
Despite the need to express regret for American selfishness
IRA-Related Public Remarks Inappropriate Views
Supply Chain Emphasis Possibility of detouring
Persuade the US government when a consultation channel is established
U.S. Senate and House of Representatives likely to pursue a two-track strategy
▲ Ahn Deok-geun (right) shakes hands with USTR representative Catherine Ty at the ‘Korea-US Trade Ministers Meeting’ held at the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) conference room in Washington DC on the 7th (local time). The two sides announced on the same day that they had agreed to strengthen strategic partnerships, such as establishing a separate consultation channel to resolve the issue of discrimination against Korean electric vehicles.
Provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
Deok-geun Ahn, head of trade negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reached an agreement with the U.S. on the 7th (local time) to operate a ‘separate consultation channel’ to resolve the issue of discrimination against Korean electric vehicles. attention is drawn A local diplomat believes that 7 of the 14 IPEF member countries, including South Korea and the US, will lead the discussion.
According to Asia Group, a US consulting firm, 7 of the 14 IPEF countries, including the US, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Brunei, are expected to participate in all four agendas: trade, supply chain, clean economy, and fair economy. At this IPEF ministerial level meeting, the first ministerial-level joint statement covering the four agendas will be drawn up, and the scope of participation for each country is also expected to be specified.
Korea has already announced its intention to participate in all four agendas several times. Washington DC diplomats also believe that only 7-8 countries will participate in all fields and will play a leading role in deriving future economic norms in the Asia-Pacific region.
IPEF allows all or only partial participation in the discussion of the four Agenda. Seven countries – India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Fiji – are expected to participate in only some of the agendas.
Director Ahn from Korea will attend the IPEF’s first ministerial-level meeting to be held in Los Angeles on the 8th and 9th. In particular, in the sense that IPEF deals with supply chain issues in the Asia-Pacific region, some raise the need to express regret for America’s self-interest in electric vehicles.
However, rather than openly criticizing a specific country in the multilateral meeting, it is highly likely that a detour expression of ‘abolishing self-interest and emphasizing the supply chain between member countries’ appears. In addition, there are many evaluations that public remarks are inappropriate, as only three of the 14 member countries are involved in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes provisions on discrimination against Korean electric vehicles. Therefore, there is a possibility that Ahn may unofficially ask Commerce Minister Gina Ramondo to revise the provisions of the law that grant a tax credit of $7,500 (about 10 million won) only to North American electric vehicles.
The Korean government, whose primary goal is to amend the provisions of the law, established a consultation channel between Korea and the United States on this day to persuade the Biden administration through this. A two-track strategy is expected
Correspondent Lee Gyeong-ju, Washington