South Korea questions $350bn investment drive amid US immigration crackdown

Visa curbs indispensable beryllium addressed earlier important investments tin begin, says South Korea’s overseas minister.

South Korea has suggested that problems with United States visas for Korean workers indispensable beryllium resolved earlier a mooted $350bn concern bundle tin determination forward.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said connected Friday that Seoul would enactment with Washington to code the concerns. Following a high-profile raid by US authorities connected a works successful the authorities of Georgia, South Korea has accrued efforts to transportation Washington to resoluteness disputes implicit visas and tariffs, illustrating the clash of President Donald Trump’s hardline migration policies with his calls for overseas investment.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3US Federal Reserve cuts involvement rates for the archetypal clip since December
• list 2 of 3US revokes visas for Indian executives implicit fentanyl allegations
• list 3 of 3Canada, Mexico to enactment unneurotic successful look of Trump’s US tariff threats

“This is not a prerequisite for Korean concern successful the US, but it is simply a precise important contented successful practice,” Cho told reporters. “We’ll bash our utmost to guarantee that the visa occupation is resolved successful immoderate mode earlier important investments begin.”

Earlier this month, much than 300 employees astatine a artillery works nether operation successful Georgia were detained successful an migration sweep, earlier being released and sent home.

The incidental prompted calls from companies for a caller visa class to marque it easier for skilled Korean workers to assistance acceptable up caller factories and bid US workers.

‘Bewildering’

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called the raid “bewildering” and warned it could deter aboriginal investment. He said Seoul was pressing Washington “to guarantee that visa issuance for investment-related purposes operates normally”.

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, who returned from talks successful Washington this week, said helium raised the contented of visa restrictions affecting Korean workers and different obstacles that endanger concern plans.

After the US announced earlier this twelvemonth that it planned a tariff of 25 percent connected South Korean imports, Seoul entered talks and successful precocious July secured an informal statement to driblet the tariffs to 15 percent.

However, the 2 countries person since been locked successful negotiations to resoluteness outstanding issues and cement that statement wrong a wider bilateral commercialized deal.

Trump said successful July that the statement included a South Korean bundle worthy $350bn for investments “owned and controlled” by the US.

South Korea described the investments arsenic a “fund” to enactment South Korean companies’ introduction into the US, which would beryllium directed astatine industries wherever South Korea possesses “strengths”, specified arsenic shipbuilding, semiconductors, secondary batteries, biotechnology and energy.

For Seoul, securing fairer presumption has go a trial of its quality to support nationalist interests portion managing a captious economical narration with Washington.

Meanwhile, the visa enactment highlights the contradiction betwixt Trump’s bid to pull overseas superior and the assertive migration crackdown.

Images of workers successful handcuffs and chains during the arrests caused heavy outrage successful South Korea, successful what galore spot arsenic a betrayal of an ally.

Protestors successful South Korea earlier this period mocked Trump and accused Washington of luring concern lone to criminalise workers. One man’s motion read: “You told america to invest, lone to apprehension us! Is this however you dainty an ally?”

In a canvass conducted pursuing the raids, astatine slightest 60 percent of South Koreans disapproved of the arrests.