S. Korea, Sweden to boost cooperation on concerns over U.S.' IRA

SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Sweden said Tuesday they will continue to work closely to try to resolve concerns over the United States' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that excludes electric vehicles assembled outside North America from tax incentives, Seoul's industry ministry said.

The IRA, signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in August, gives up to US$7,500 in tax credits to buyers of EVs assembled only in North America, sparking concerns over its negative impacts on non-American carmakers.

On Tuesday, Seoul's Deputy Trade Minister Jeong Dae-jin met with Hakan Jevrell, state secretary of Sweden's foreign ministry, in Seoul, and shared the concerns and discussed how to jointly deal with the matter, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Jeong voiced hope for Sweden's leading role in resolving the IRA issue as the president of the European Union council in the first half of next year, and Jevrell suggested continued cooperation between the two sides, it added.

The two sides have been in close consultation on the act by holding a series of senior-level talks, the ministry noted.

South Korea's Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp., as well as some European carmakers, make EVs at domestic plants for export to the U.S. Last year, South Korea sold some 32,000 EVs in the U.S. market, and the figure for Sweden came to around 23,000, according to Seoul officials.

During the talks, the officials agreed to hold a second round of the bilateral industrial cooperation committee meeting in Stockholm on the agreed date in an effort to explore ways to deepen ties in a wide range of industry sectors, including bio, semiconductors and batteries.

South Korea and Sweden signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial ties in 2019, and the inaugural committee meeting took place in Seoul in April this year.

The officials also agreed Tuesday to hold an economic forum on digital transition and green growth in the first half of next year to share related developments and boost corporate exchanges, according to the ministry.

Bilateral trade came to US$3.57 billion last year, up 26 percent from a year earlier.

Investment between the two sides has also grown sharply recently. Sweden's investment in South Korea rose 33 percent on-year to $56 million last year, and South Korea's investment in the European nation grew nearly fivefold on-year to $249 million in 2021.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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