At the summit, South Korea restores Japan as a white nation, and semiconductors fail to recognize exceptions for imports from China.
On the 24th, ahead of the Korea-US summit, the Yoon Seok-yeol government announced the restoration of a white country in Japan, requested the United States to grant an exception to the high-tech equipment from Korean semiconductor companies invested in China, and the US Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). It seems that it will not happen based on the important agreement.
Ahead of the Korea-US summit, South Korea clung to the 'recognition of exceptions to Korea' in supporting the war in Ukraine and accompany the chaebol head to the US, while the US foreign minister, finance minister and three representatives of the USTR worked in the Philippines to establish the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). They toured Japan, Vietnam and Singapore.
In a joint statement in May of last year, the leaders of the United States and the ROK signed a comprehensive delivery plan that will deepen economic engagement on priorities, including the digital economy, resilient supply chains, clean energy, and other priorities focused on promoting sustainable economic growth. -Agreeed to work together to develop the Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)> and agreed to give IPEF an advantage over China in restoring the supply chain.
South Korea officially reinstated Japan on the 24th on the list of white countries that provide preferential trade in three years after neighboring countries downgraded each other's trade status amid diplomatic conflicts sparked by historical grievances.
Prior to his visit to the U.S., President Yoon’s office was known to have negotiated a proposal for the U.S. to recognize “Korean companies as exceptions” from banning cutting-edge equipment from China under the Semiconductor Act.
On the 24th, the Ministry of Trade and Energy announced in the government gazette that it would “further restrict technology and industrial exports to Russia and its ally Belarus in support of the US-led pressure campaign against Moscow over the war in Ukraine,” and that it would restore the white country to Japan. revealed
Regarding the announcement by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea to restore Japan as a white country, Reuters said, “South Korean officials expect Japan to restore Korea as a friendly trade partner, but the process of amending Japan’s export regulations is expected to take more time.” I do,” he reported on the 24th.
'News 1' reported on the Korean President's Office's proposal to "temporarily allow high-tech upgrades" in China by Korean semiconductor companies, "a plan to place restrictions on the sale of factories to China when withdrawing" as a negotiation proposal.
The Financial Times and Reuters reported on the 23rd, citing officials, that the United States requested South Korea to “enable South Korean semiconductor companies to fill the shortfall in China” in the event of a shortage of semiconductors by banning Micron from selling semiconductors to China.
After visiting the Philippines, Catherine USTR representative visited Tokyo on the same day, and will visit Singapore next week to continue the third meeting on the IPEF agreement regarding semiconductor chip shortages.
The IPEF framework, signed by President Yoon and President Biden last year, has 13 member countries, including the United States, Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The United States, which is strengthening the IPEF system prior to the Korea-US summit, strengthened security and economic cooperation during a visit to Vietnam by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the 22nd.
Reuters commented on the visit to Vietnam, saying it "strengthened diplomacy across the region, and Washington sees Vietnam as a key component of its strategy in the region given Vietnam's traditional rivalry with its much larger neighbor China." After visiting Manila in the Philippines, I visited Tokyo, and helped strengthen trade ties between the US and Japan while building economic and defense ties.”
'News 1' reported on the 'Korean nuclear umbrella' that "the governments of the two countries are reviewing a plan to stipulate that the United States will respond with nuclear weapons if the Korean territory is attacked by nuclear weapons from North Korea." .
Regarding the semiconductor law on the 20th, Treasury Secretary Yellen said, “The US is not trying to damage the Chinese economy, and the targeted actions the US has taken against China, such as blocking China from the world’s most advanced semiconductors, are purely to protect US national security.” “The Biden administration is considering additional restrictions on China, including a program limiting certain US investments in technologies that could be used for surveillance or warfare,” he said, revealing’direct negotiations with China’.
The U.S. Republican Party has applied a strategy of “recognizing exceptions” to Korea in accordance with the policy of “separating the U.S. economic system from China.”
In May of last year, a joint statement by the US and South Korea leaders <President Biden expressed support for President Seok-yeol Yoon's idea to establish Korea's Indo-Pacific strategic framework. President Yoon Seok-yeol also welcomed the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. The two leaders committed to close cooperation through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) based on the principles of openness, transparency and inclusiveness. The two leaders will develop a comprehensive Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that will deepen economic engagement on priority issues, including the digital economy, resilient supply chains, clean energy and other priorities focused on promoting sustainable economic growth. They agreed to be together to make it happen.>