Korea

While plurilateral agreements are an important tool in securing new rules at the World Trade Organization, members should work to “multilateralize” them eventually or risk further fragmentation, Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, a candidate for director-general, said on Tuesday.

Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, a candidate to lead the World Trade Organization, says she knows how to close a trade deal. With the biggest trade deal of them all -- the World Trade Organization -- on the brink, Yoo believes the only way forward is to prove the beleaguered institution can build on successes on its way to reform.

The U.S. on Monday backed Japan’s invocation of the World Trade Organization national security exception in a dispute with South Korea over semiconductor materials. The U.S. has cited the same provision in challenges to its steel and aluminum tariffs.

Citing negotiations with foreign auto companies, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Sunday said he hopes those talks will “bear enough fruit” so the U.S. does not have to put potential Section 232 measures “fully into effect.”

“Because that activity may not be visible publicly doesn't mean it's not happening.”

Under pressure from the U.S., South Korea is preparing to abandon its status as a developing country at the World Trade Organization, the government said on Wednesday.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho was set to meet with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell and Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth Keith Krach.

While an escalating trade fight between Japan and South Korea is already affecting U.S. supply chains, the Trump administration has yet to show definitively whether it plans to intervene -- though industry officials and analysts say they would like to see the U.S. do so.

“I plan to explain to all those involved that Japan's measure affects the global economy, with implications for all products that use semiconductors.”