South Korea and the US are discussing semiconductor investments as part of broader bilateral negotiations, with Seoul acknowledging that planned US tariffs on chip imports could affect the talks.
A South Korean presidential official told reporters on Friday that semiconductors were among the investment-related matters being discussed between the two countries.
“There are various issues between South Korea and the United States, and they are sometimes affecting each other,” the official said.
“We are making efforts to prevent them from hindering each other.”
The comments came after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Washington was planning a “targeted, thoughtful tariff policy” on semiconductor imports.
“If you don’t build here, expect to pay to enter the greatest market in the world,” he said in a televised interview.
The US and South Korea agreed last year on a deal involving US$350 billion of South Korean investment in US manufacturing. Under the agreement, South Korean chipmakers are to receive US tariff rates “no less favourable” than those offered to competitors with equal or larger volumes of chip trade.
South Korea is home to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, which are benefiting from surging demand as US technology companies ramp up investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The South Korean official also said negotiations with Washington on national security issues had not made progress, including Seoul’s plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine as part of last year’s agreement.
Reuters
