KOREAN DELEGATION IN U.S. TO DISCUSS IRA

[Anchor Lead]

The representatives of the South Korean government and the National Assembly have arrived in Washington, D.C. to discuss the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which excludes electric vehicles assembled outside of North America from tax incentives in the US. The EU, which is also strongly protesting the move, has vowed to overhaul its own state tax subsidies to counter the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.

[Pkg]

The representatives of the South Korean government and the National Assembly have arrived in Washington, D.C. They are visiting the U.S. to wrap up bilateral negotiations on the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which offers tax subsidies of up to ten million won only to electric cars assembled in the United States. South Korea's trade minister is in the U.S. three months after his previous visit in September.

[Soundbite] Ahn Duk-geun(Trade minister) : "We will discuss with the White House Korean automakers' position, especially the potential disadvantages for Hyundai Motor."

The U.S. Treasury Department is set to announce the details of the Inflation Reduction Act by the end of December. The Korean delegation is zeroing in on the possibility of modifying potential "glitches" in the law, as has been mentioned earlier by President Joe Biden.

[Soundbite] Youn Kwan-suk(Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee) : "President Biden was the first to officially bring up glitches in the IRA that need to be fixed. We will discuss diverse solutions with the U.S. Congress."

The European Union, which is strongly protesting Washington's policy on tax subsidies, has vowed to overhaul its own state tax subsidies to counter the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The move is aimed at preventing European investments and manufacturing bases from being leaked to the U.S. because of Washington's policy.

[Soundbite] Ursula von der Leyen(President, European Commission) : "Yes, if we are competing on a level playing field. So we must take action to rebalance the playing field where the IRA and other measures create distortions."

Seoul plans to cooperate with the EU to minimize the IRA's discriminatory stipulations. However, the government believes it's hard to say for sure to what extent the law can be modified.