South Korea To Use Summit Diplomacy Network To Curb External Trade Risks

According to Yonhap, South Korea plans to use its existing economic cooperation network built through summit diplomacy to manage uncertainties in the global trade environment, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said relevant ministries will move quickly to implement memorandums of understanding signed at summits and that the government will keep working to stabilize external risks while seeking new growth engines. The finance ministry said South Korea will continue coordinating with Washington after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently proposed a 12.5% tariff on South Korea and dozens of other economies over alleged failures to enforce import bans on products made with forced labor. South Korea also plans to keep fulfilling its investment pledge to the U.S. while closely reviewing the viability of potential projects. The meeting also covered negotiations with Bangladesh on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with the goal of expanding cooperation in infrastructure, manufacturing and energy. Officials additionally reviewed official development assistance projects in artificial intelligence under South Korea's Global AI Basic Society vision, including AI solutions, data centers and energy infrastructure for sectors such as water management, health care, energy, transportation and education.