South Korean trade minister Bang Moon-kyu met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation in advanced industries such as semiconductors during his visit to the U.S. for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The meeting in San Francisco also addressed ongoing collaboration on major trade issues, highlighting the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s (MOTIE) close relationship with the U.S. Department of Commerce in sectors including industrial policy and supply chain restructuring.

Bang emphasized the importance of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the upcoming Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) guidelines, stressing that these should be “reasonably” formulated with consideration for the global supply chain of batteries and key minerals. FEOC refers to entities identified under the IRA as potentially harmful or risky for U.S. national security or policy reasons.