South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Brinken on the 19th, directly discussing the US “Inflation Control Law” that excludes South Korean passenger cars from tax support measures for electric vehicles (EV). raised an issue.
According to diplomatic sources, Minister Park raised the concerns of South Korean industries and asked for flexible implementation of the anti-inflation law.
Prior to this, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US State Department introduced the contents of the meeting in a press release following the phone call, but did not disclose the fact that the issue of the inflation control law was discussed.
However, Minister Park attended the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the same day and said, “It is true that the South Korean industry has concerns regarding the change in the EV subsidy system.” There are,” he explained. “There is a principle of national treatment in the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and there is a principle of most-favoured-nation treatment in the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Stated.
The Inflation Control Act, which was signed by US President Biden on the 16th, is limited to electric vehicles that meet certain requirements. pillars. In order to apply, the vehicle must be assembled in North America, and from January next year, additional conditions must be met, such as the use of batteries produced in the United States and their important minerals at a certain rate or more. be. The Hyundai Ionic 5 and Kia EV6 currently on sale in the US are likely to be exempt from subsidies because they are all produced in South Korea. If that happens, price competitiveness will decline, making local sales difficult.
Reporter Kim Yang-hyuk
Chosun Ilbo / Chosun Ilbo Japanese version
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