United States of America

On 30 June 2007, U.S. and South Korean trade officials signed the U.S.- Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The two countries reached the agreement after 10 months of very…

On 1 April 2007 Korea and the United States finally completed their year-long negotiations to conclude the Korea- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), which was then signed by the…

President Lee Myung-bak won a landslide victory in 2007. His popularity before the election was obvious, and it came as a surprise to almost no one that he won by…

The world can only hope the recent U.S.-North Korean bilateral discussions will revive the six-power talks and lead to Pyongyang’s renunciation of its nuclear weapons ambitions. Hope, however, is not…

The second Donald Trump administration’s rapid start has put South Koreans on alert regarding the implications for managing U.S.-South Korea relations. Under normal circumstances, South Korea’s president would be near the front of the line outside of the Oval Office. But Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law last December and his subsequent impeachment have…

The concept of reciprocity has garnered significant attention since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump on January 20. One of his first actions was signing the America First Trade Policy executive order, which tasked the secretary of commerce with investigating the causes of the United States’ large and persistent trade deficit in goods and…

“You should get rid of the CHIP Act and whatever’s left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt. Or any other reason you want to.” This pronouncement from President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress in his second term fully unmasked his administration’s trade 2.0 agenda. If realized, the repeal of the…

There is much speculation about the future of certain funding awards and tax breaks under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA is a federally enacted legislation, meaning its repeal would require an act of Congress. However, so far under Trump 2.0, the executive branch has been testing the full extent of its power.…

Please join KEI and KIEP for a discussion about the first 10 years of KORUS and the future of the U.S.-Korea economic relationship.