The government will launch a ministerial-level consultation channel between Korea and the United States to discuss the issue of discrimination against Korean-made electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of the United States, Deok-geun Ahn, Head of Trade Negotiation Headquarters announced on the 5th local time.
Director Ahn, who visited Washington DC, met with reporters at Dulles Airport on the same day and said that the meeting with US Trade Representative Catherine Ty (USTR) during the visit was the first meeting between the two countries on this matter at the ministerial level. will," he said.
Director Ahn mentioned the fact that the government delegation to the US at the end of last month decided to seek a single consultation channel between the two countries and said, "I am the leader of the pan-government joint countermeasures team, and I think it is right for the USTR to be in charge of the US as well." indicated that they would each serve as representatives of the bilateral consultation channels.
“I think that Representative Tai is well aware of the seriousness of the matter,” he said. explained.
Director Ahn said, "I will ask the US to even revise the IRA law, and if it takes time, until then, we will seek various measures that can be supplemented by the administration."
He also mentioned, "Even though it is difficult to amend the law early, we are looking for a multi-faceted solution, including those that can be solved by legislation and problems that can be solved at the government level."
During his visit to the U.S., General Ahn said, "We will meet as broadly as possible to communicate our opinions as much as possible so that our position is actively reflected in the Congress and the administration in the future," he said. “, he added.
Regarding whether the European Union (EU), Germany, the UK, Japan, Sweden, etc. will also respond jointly with countries that are expected to be affected by IRAs, he said, "Europe and Japan are in virtually the same situation as us," he said. In the future, if necessary, we will seek ways to cooperate with governments and other legal procedures.”
(Photo = Yonhap News)