Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Lee holds talks with U.S. Representatives on IRA

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang held talks on September 5 with the team of U.S. Representatives during their visit to Korea, and raised concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and exchanged views on reinforcing Korea-U.S. cooperation. Visiting members of the U.S. House of Representatives are Andy Barr, Darrell Issa, Claudia Tenney, Stephanie Murphy, Scott Franklin, Kaiali’I Kahele, Joe Wilson, Michael Waltz and Kat Cammack, nine in total. Seven are members of th date2022-09-06

Trade Minister visits Washington D.C. for IRA talks

Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun is visiting Washington D.C. through September 5-7 to meet U.S. government officials and Congress members in person to discuss the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) concerning tax benefits for electric vehicles (EVs) 'for which final assembly occurred in North America.' As the abovementioned IRA incorporates discriminatory treatment towards imported EVs in the U.S. market, Korean automakers have voiced serious concerns. Accordingly, the trade chief is cont date2022-09-05

Korea and Oman hold talks on energy supply chain cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang held talks on September 5 with Oman’s Energy and Minerals Minister Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi concerning bilateral energy supply chain cooperation and Korea’s participation in Oman’s energy infrastructure projects. Minister Lee noted how important the two countries are to one another, as Oman is fourth largest LNG supplier (9.6 percent of Korea’s total LNG imports) to Korea, while Korea is Oman’s largest LNG importer date2022-09-05

2nd Vice Minister attends G20 Energy Ministers Meeting

Trade, Industry and Energy 2nd Vice Minister Park Il-jun attended the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting on September 2 via videoconferencing and discussed cooperation measures to expand clean energy and expressed support for the joint communiqué on accelerating clean energy. Participant nations agreed that the global energy market was becoming more fraught with uncertainties and the need for supply chain and security is rising. Moreover, they discussed technological development, support for e date2022-09-02

Korea's exports rise 6.6% in August

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on September 1 that Korea’s exports in August saw a year-on-year expansion of 6.6 percent and recorded USD 56.7 billion, hitting the highest value for the month of August in history. Imports jumped 28.2 percent to $66.2 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $9.5 billion. Total trade volume achieved highest ever $960.3 billion. Despite protracted Russia-Ukraine war and tighter monetary policies of major countries, exports posted grow date2022-09-01

Minister holds talks with U.S. Ambassador to Korea over IRA and CHIPS Act

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang met with Philip S. Goldberg, United States Ambassador to South Korea, in Seoul on August 31 to congratulate his new appointment to the post and discussed future Korea-U.S. cooperation on current issues. On the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Minister Lee relayed his agreement to general measures for climate change response and clean energy expansion. However, with regard to tax benefits for EV makers, he expressed serious co date2022-09-01

Prime Minister and 2nd Vice Minister attend H2 MEET

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Trade, Industry and Energy 2nd Vice Minister Park Il-Jun attended the H2 MEET (Mobility, Energy, Environment, Technology) Exhibition opening ceremony at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on August 31. In his congratulatory message, Prime Minister stated that “Korea’s new regime aims to achieve a balanced development of all hydrogen cycles (production, distribution, utilization) and that future policies will be soon announced by the date2022-08-31

MOTIE submits IPEF plan to National Assembly

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) submitted its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) negotiations plan to the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on August 29. After the launching of IPEF on the occasion of the May 23 summit meeting, the Government has been actively engaging in member states’ preliminary negotiations process, proceeding with the economic feasibility evaluation (May-June) and public hearing (July date2022-08-31