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| Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, right, shakes hands with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross after the meeting held in Washington, Thursday (local time). Yonhap |
US says it will play a role in Seoul-Tokyo trade feud
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee has drummed up support from the United States in Korea's deepening trade dispute with Japan during her five-day stay in Washington, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday.
The ministry said that the U.S. government has vowed to play a necessary role to help resolve the ongoing trade conflict between Seoul and Tokyo.
At a series of meetings with U.S. trade and economy officials, Yoo claimed that Japan's export restrictions will not only affect Korea but also disrupt supply chains in the U.S. and those of global firms.
On July 4, Tokyo implemented measures to curb exports of high-tech materials to Seoul, which are crucial for the production of chips and displays, saying that some of the materials have been handled inappropriately.
Korea called Japan's allegations "groundless" and condemned the measure as politically motivated retaliation against Korean Supreme Court rulings last year ordering Japanese firms to compensate surviving wartime forced labor victims during the 1910-45 colonial rule.
The minister met with a diverse group of trade and economy officials, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Michael McCaul, a Republican member on the same committee, who represents a district in Texas.
Texas is where one of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plants is located.
Yoo asked her U.S. counterparts for their support, saying that the trade dispute will also have a negative economic impact on U.S. companies and consumers.
"I asked the U.S. to pay closer attention and respond to Japan's measure with a greater sense of gravity, given that they can affect the global economy," she told reporters in Washington.
"Ross said he would consider what role the U.S. can play, showing a commitment to mediating the trade dispute," she said.
She cited specific data examples, such as the increase in the price of DRAM memory chips in the past weeks, to back up her arguments
"The price for DRAM chips have surged 23 percent in the past two weeks," she said. DRAM chips are used in all consumer electronic goods.
The trade minister stressed that Japan is abusing its dominant position in high-tech materials and Korea's reliance on foreign trade to harm Korean companies.
Yoo also met with officials of Staffing Industry Analysts, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
They expressed their concerns over the deepening trade row and agreed to play negotiators, according to the ministry.
Yoo's Washington visit came about two weeks after National Security Office deputy head Kim Hyun-chong visited the U.S. to ask for its mediation in the trade dispute.
Kyodo News reported Friday that Japan will decide August 2 whether to remove Korea from its whitelist.
If Japan does so, trade tensions will mount, according to industry officials.
"The removal is a shortsighted measure which not only affects Korean but also Japanese companies, as well as the global value chain. It also goes against the principles of the WTO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said.
