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S. Korea's Trade Minister stresses "manufacturing renaissance" involving U.S.
Arirang TV - Good evening, and thank you for joining us.
I'm Song Yoo-jin, filling in for Kim Dami.
A week after returning from Washington with a hard-fought
trade deal, South Korea's top trade negotiator laid out his vision today for
the country's economic cooperation with the United States, and his take on the
deal he helped to secure.
Our economics correspondent, Park Jun-han, has our top
story tonight.
Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo
addressed the strong economic partnership with the U.S. on Friday,
highlighting the concept of a "Manufacturing Renaissance."
"I think Korea and the U.S. are really indispensable
and inevitable key partners."
"I think that a manufacturing renaissance partnership
is actually what Korea can offer to help the U.S. rebuild its manufacturing,
especially in shipbuilding, semiconductor, batteries, and biopharma."
Yeo's comment at the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea
came less than ten days after Seoul and Washington agreed to lower U.S.
reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent.
While the trade minister expressed regret over tariffs that
were once zero percent on each side, he acknowledged that the U.S. trade and
global trade environment has changed over time.
"I think we need to adjust to this new environment. In
that sense, I think this trade deal really helped kind of lift some of the
uncertainty."
"The U.S. promised no worse treatment than any other
country, meaning kind of most favored nation at that level.
So I think we kind of achieved some level of stability,
certainty under this extremely volatile trading situation."
At the roundtable, AMCHAM Chairman and CEO James Kim
brought the idea of helping to bridge businesses between South Korea and the
U.S.
"We're also committed to working with you, trade
minister, to come up with viable solutions pertaining to non-tariff barriers
and sectoral tariffs. We want to
continue to serve as a bridge between the U.S. and Korea, both in the public
sector and also in the private sector."
Meanwhile, Minister Yeo announced the launch of a dedicated
“U.S. Help Desk” to better understand and respond to the concerns of American
companies.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to enhancing
regulatory predictability and providing strong support for foreign-invested
enterprises operating in Korea.
Park Jun-han, Arirang News.
