Seoul (South Korea), December 9: Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States will hold economic talks in Washington, D.C., next week to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other pending issues, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon will visit the U.S. from Sunday to Wednesday and attend the Senior Economic Dialogue (SED) with his counterpart, Jose Fernandez, on Monday, according to the ministry's spokesperson, Lim Soo-suk.
Lee and Fernandez plan to discuss various topics, including the IRA, supply chains, science, health, development, infrastructure and other issues of economic cooperation, he said.
The SED is a regular consultation channel on economic cooperation between the South Korean foreign ministry and the U.S. State Department. It has taken place six times since its establishment was agreed upon at a summit in October 2015.
South Korea and the U.S. have continued close consultations to seek solutions regarding the IRA following Seoul's concerns it may hurt its automakers.
The IRA, signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in August, gives up to US$7,500 in tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles assembled only in North America, sparking concerns that Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. could lose ground in the U.S. market, as the two South Korean carmakers assemble their EVs at domestic plants for export to the U.S.
During his trip, Lee also plans to meet with some U.S. lawmakers to discuss the IRA.
Source: Yonhap