The US has tightened its investment requirements for South Korea! South Korea is being asked to submit projects exceeding $350 billion and is trying to reduce the agreed amount.

The US has tightened its investment requirements for South Korea! South Korea is being asked to submit projects exceeding $350 billion and is trying to reduce the agreed amount.

The United States has made investment demands that go beyond the established framework in trade negotiations with South Korea, putting Seoul in a dilemma.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the United States has requested South Korea to submit a batch of investment projects, the total amount of which exceeds the $350 billion cap agreed upon in last year's bilateral trade agreement. South Korea is currently in the final stages of negotiations with the United States, attempting to bring the actual investment commitments back within the previously agreed limits.

This situation presents South Korea with a difficult choice regarding project selection, and the outcome of the negotiations will directly impact South Korean companies' investment strategies in the US in the energy and nuclear power sectors. The South Korean government plans to brief the National Assembly on the progress of the negotiations on September 17, and the memorandum of understanding may be signed as early as the following day.

South Korea seeks a balancing solution as the total amount of three major projects exceeds the limit.

According to Yonhap News Agency, citing unnamed congressional officials, the investment projects currently under discussion include: the Encinal gas-fired power plant in Texas, the construction of eight large nuclear reactors, and a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska. The combined size of these three projects exceeds the $350 billion cap set in the agreement.

Therefore, South Korea is weighing two possible approaches: one is to select only two of the three projects mentioned above for inclusion in the investment framework; the other is to adjust the investment amount for each project so that all three projects remain within the agreed-upon limits.

Negotiations are nearing completion, and the memorandum of understanding is about to be signed.

The South Korean government plans to brief the National Assembly on the latest developments in investment negotiations on September 17, and may formally sign a memorandum of understanding as early as September 18. This means that the negotiations have entered the final sprint stage, and South Korea needs to make a final decision on the project portfolio and investment amount in a short period of time.

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