Trump’s Additional Tariffs? Ruling and Opposition Lawmakers Highlight $500 Billion in U.S. Investments

[The Financial News] As the administration of Donald Trump in the United States of America (US) has launched a Section 301 investigation under U.S. trade law, a preliminary step toward imposing additional tariffs on Korea, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties visited the US to stress a total of $500 billion in Korean investment there and to seek understanding.
Members of the Korea-U.S. Parliamentary Association from both parties said at a roundtable with correspondents in Washington, D.C., on the 26th (local time) that they had exchanged views with the U.S. Department of Commerce and members of Congress on tariff negotiations.
According to the association, they explained to the U.S. side that Korean investment in the US over the past four years has reached $160 billion, and that an additional $350 billion in investment is expected under the Special Act on Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Management. They argued that, given this large-scale investment, Korea should receive fair treatment on tariffs and worker visa issues.
The Korea-U.S. Parliamentary Association said that David Vogel, assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce, expressed understanding of Korea’s position and promised to convey it to the administration. U.S. federal lawmakers from both chambers, including Republican Party (GOP) members Bill Hagerty and Ted Cruz and Democratic Party (United States) member Andy Kim, also reacted positively. They reportedly advised that, in particular, visa issues could be addressed more quickly through an executive order by President Donald Trump to facilitate the implementation of U.S.-bound investments, rather than through legislation.
Cho Kyoung-tae of the People Power Party (PPP), co-chair of the association, said, "They seemed strongly impressed that there are hardly any countries where ruling and opposition parties move this swiftly in a bipartisan manner." Lee Un-ju of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) added, "We discussed follow-up measures to the tariff agreement, including investment in nuclear power plants and nuclear-powered submarines, and I believe U.S. lawmakers came away with the impression that Korea is very proactive in investing in the US."

uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yoon-ho Reporter