Senior diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. to hold talks on economic cooperation

▲ Jose Fernandez, under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, speaks during a presser after holding senior economic talks with his South Korean counterpart and then Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon (R), at the foreign ministry building in Seoul on Jan. 10, 2023. (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-economic talks

Senior diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. to hold talks on economic cooperation

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States were set to hold vice ministerial talks Wednesday to discuss efforts to boost cooperation in the supply chain of critical minerals and other economic areas, the foreign ministry said.

The annual Senior Economic Dialogue will be led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun and Jose Fernandez, under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.

Fernandez is in Seoul on the last leg of his three-nation trip to Asia that began Monday that included stops to Vietnam and the Philippines.

"The two sides will focus consultations on various ways for cooperation in the economy and security, centering on supply chains, as well as efforts to strengthen global cooperation in development and infrastructure," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said Tuesday.

The State Department said earlier that the talks are meant to underline the strong bilateral trade and investment relationship and cooperation in critical minerals, semiconductors and energy security.

Also expected to be on the table are key U.S. green policies under President Joe Biden's administration, including the subsidy programs for chip manufacturing and incentive rules for electric vehicles and battery components.

The South Korean government and industries have expressed concerns over the rules under the Inflation Reduction Act that requires a drastic reduction in the sourcing of key minerals from China to qualify for U.S. tax credits.

The two sides could also discuss South Korea's proposed regulations to beef up oversight over major online platform businesses against monopolistic market practices.

On Monday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement opposing the Fair Trade Commission's push to introduce the "platform legislation," saying it will hinder market competition and unfairly target foreign firms.

The proposed bill, if enacted, is expected to affect Google Inc. and Apple Inc., as well as South Korea's two biggest platform giants: Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp.

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