South Korean parliament to hold March 12 vote on US investment bill amid tariff pressure
SEOUL — South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties agreed on Wednesday to pass a special bill on March 12 to enable major investments in the US under a bilateral trade deal, moving to meet Washington’s expectations after recent pressure over delays.
Ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Cheon Jun-ho and the main opposition People Power Party’s Yoo Sang-beom reached the agreement during a meeting at the National Assembly, saying the US investment special law would be handled without further delay, Mr. Cheon’s office said.
According to the Yonhap News Agency, Mr. Cheon told reporters following the meeting that the opposition had decided to support the bill in consideration of the national interest, adding that it would be passed in a plenary session on March 12.
The international environment, including heightened tensions following conflict between the United States and Iran, made it increasingly important for the bill to be passed on schedule based on US expectations, Yonhap quoted Mr. Yoo saying.
If the legislative process were delayed further, “the United States could impose very strong trade retaliation,” he added.
US President Donald J. Trump threatened in January to hike tariffs on imports from South Korea, blaming a delay in enacting a trade deal in which the Asian ally promised to invest $350 billion in the United States.
Earlier, Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do said his party would work to secure a bipartisan agreement at a special parliamentary committee by March 9, the panel’s deadline, before bringing the bill to a vote on March 12. — Reuters
