Trade, Industry and Resources Minister Kim Jung-kwan attends a press conference at the government complex in Sejong, central South Korea, 17 December 2025, to announce the ministry’s policy briefing for 2026. File. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
Feb. 15 (Asia Today) — About 20 days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 25% tariff increase on South Korean products, Seoul is accelerating its response while urging the National Assembly to move quickly on related legislation.
Although the tariff measure has not yet been published in the Federal Register, buying time for negotiations, trade uncertainty persists amid U.S. concerns over South Korea’s commitment to expand investment in the United States and calls to address non-tariff barriers.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it convened the first meeting of the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment MOU Implementation Committee on Thursday to review potential U.S.-bound investment projects.
Trade Minister Kim Jeong-kwan chaired the meeting, which included officials from the Finance Ministry, Foreign Ministry and state-run financial institutions. The committee serves as a temporary mechanism to examine projects while legislation to establish a formal investment framework remains pending