South Korea is assembling a team of specialists to support a new government committee responsible for reviewing potential investment projects in the United States under a trade deal with the U.S. The Korea-U.S. strategic investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) implementation committee recently convened its first meeting to identify possible projects. This move follows a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to increase tariffs on Korea back to 25 percent due to delays in implementing the bilateral trade deal.
The committee, led by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and including officials from relevant ministries and state-run financial institutions, will act as a central point for investment consultations with the U.S. It will evaluate the commercial viability and economic benefits of prospective projects. South Korea plans to deploy officials from various ministries and engage financial, legal, and market experts in U.S. investments to assist the committee.
As part of the trade agreement, South Korea committed to a US$350 billion investment in the U.S. in exchange for tariff reductions. The National Assembly has also established a special committee to accelerate the legislation of a bill supporting investments in the U.S. The newly formed government committee aims to kickstart the review process for potential investment projects in the U.S., emphasizing the importance of the trade deal between the two nations.
