The South Korean government is planning to disclose its forex market intervention history under pressure from the U.S. government.At present, South Korea is the only OECD member country not disclosing the history. Not only the United States but also the IMF has called for the South Korean government
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on March 28 that the South Korean and U.S. governments recently reached a currency agreement and currency devaluation and exchange rate manipulation by the South Korean government are prohibited according to the agreement. The Sou
According to industry sources, GM Korea is likely to increase imports from the United States and reduce its domestic production volume to a large extent after Gunsan Plant shutdown and KORUS FTA revision.GM International President Barry Engle had a meeting with unionized GM Korea workers on March 27
A high-ranking U.S. government official said on March 27 that the South Korean and U.S. governments reached an agreement on foreign exchange policy while revising their FTA. According to him, the South Korean government is going to minimize an intentional depreciation of the won while enhancing tran
According to industry sources on March 27, Hyundai Motor Company decided to produce the pick-up truck it is currently working on not in South Korea but in the United States with the duration of import duties on pick-up trucks exported from South Korea to the U.S. lengthened as a result of KORUS FTA
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong announced on March 26 that the U.S. government’s additional 25% tariff will not be applied to 2.68 million tons of South Korean steel, which is equivalent to 74% of the steel South Korea exported to the U.S. last year. Earlier, American steel companies dema
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said on March 25 that South Korea and the United States reached in principle an agreement on KORUS FTA revision and steel tariffs and some remaining technical issues will be resolved in the near future.According to him, the two countries’ negotiations resul
According to industry sources on March 17, official negotiations for KORUS FTA revision ended on March 16 (local time) but South Korean negotiators, including Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong, are going to stay in Washington D.C. until next week for negotiations regarding steel tariffs. White House sp
A negotiation to exclude South Korea from countries subject to US steel tariffs and the third negotiation to revise the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be conducted at the same time. The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said on March 14 that the third round of a free tr
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an administrative order to impose a 25% tariff on imported steel in accordance with Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 while exempting Canada and Mexico unlike South Korea. The two countries are the largest and fourth-largest steel exporters for the U.S
The United States called for stricter standards for imported steel raw materials at the South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) amendment negotiations. It is part of its strategy to see whether South Korea serves as a base for transshipment of Chinese low-priced steel products.According to some of
U.S. President Donald Trump on February 13 (local time) invited his cabinet members and congressmen to the White House to discuss fair trade for American workers. There, he mentioned reportedly China 25 times and South Korea 21 times while mentioning Japan four times and Germany once. He also said t
At an industry and trade committee meeting of the National Assembly on February 12, Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong said that the South Korean government will file a complaint with the WTO next month regarding the United States’ emergency import restrictions on South Korean washing machines and solar p
The second round of negotiations for KORUS FTA revision ended in Seoul on February 1. During the two-day negotiations, participants had working-level talks concerning automobiles, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), trade remedies such as safeguard measures and anti-dumping duties, etc.The Sou
On January 22 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump decided to make safeguard measures to restrict the import of washing machines from South Korea. That day, those supporting South Korean President Moon Jae-in displayed an advertisement at the Times Square to celebrate his 66th birthday.The U.S.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said openly on January 24 that a weak dollar is good for the United States in terms of trade. The remark has been interpreted as a signal that the U.S. government can drop the value of the U.S. dollar in order to improve its trade balance, accelerating the depr
The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy of Korea announced on January 15 that WTO’s final decision was made on January 12 regarding anti-dumping disputes over oil country tubular goods (OCTG) between South Korea and the United States.In November last year, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the W
The United States Department of Commerce is going to release a report within a few days to urge the U.S. government to restrict the import of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and welded line pipes (WLP) from South Korea, according to industry sources. The decision is based on Section 232 of the Trad
The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced that the first round of negotiation for KORUS FTA revision took place for hours on January 5 at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Director-General Yoo Myung-hee led the South Korean side in the negotiation with the U.S. si
South Korea’s agricultural and livestock imports from the United States have increased all the way since the implementation of the Korea-US free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) in March 2012. Under the circumstances, South Korea’s average annual trade deficit in the sector amounted to US$6.7 billion in