"The EU is moving to counter American dominance in technology by reaching for one of the oldest tools in its arsenal: industrial strategy... the real focus of the proposed legislation is on measures aimed at helping European companies grow into serious contenders capable of taking on U.S. Big Tech."

On June 3, during South Korea's local elections — including the Seoul mayoral race — polling stations in parts of Seoul ran out of ballots. Some voters reportedly left without casting a ballot.

"Greer attacked the legislation, approved Wednesday by the Cabinet of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as treating American companies 'like a piggy bank for pet, protectionist projects.' ... the U.S. trade chief argued the draft law would force American companies to bankroll German cultural projects."

The #Samsung Effect: "The timing of the #TSMC town hall coincided with a tentative end to a monthslong confrontation between... Samsung and its largest worker union... TSMC does not have an organized labor union, but its employees had started to express their frustrations publicly in online forums."

@economist.com: "North-east Asia’s export industries increasingly operate on two tracks. On one track, the boom in artificial intelligence is driving high-tech exports... On the second track, the rest of industry is clapped out... In areas such as cars and chemicals, China is lapping the trio."

S Korea makes about two-thirds of the world’s memory chips. AI has turned that dominance into a profit boom. Now comes the harder question: who gets the windfall? Today, Seoul’s labor minister called chips “like air in the AI era,” hinting at their public-interest stakes despite private ownership.

Huh? 😳

"The Coupang dispute, to many in South Korea, is a sign of a persistent gap in trust in the alliance with the United States. Many South Koreans now consider the alliance predatory, particularly under Mr. Trump."

"The Android-operated device was first promoted as 'Made in the USA' in June 2025... But Trump Mobile has since changed the language on its website to 'designed with American values in mind.'"

Update: "Samsung Electronics’ management and its union leaders reached a tentative bonus-pay agreement at the 11th hour... The union said it will suspend its May 21-June 7 strike until further notice, as union members will vote on the tentative deal on May 22 through May 27."

"President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ​said after a meeting... that they would deepen ​coordination to stabilise energy supply lines and expand cooperation with other Asian ⁠partners, as supply disruption from war in the Gulf strains their import-dependent economies."

Update on Samsung strike: D-3 - Chairman Lee issued a public apology; last-minute talks resumed - Korea's PM warned of emergency arbitration if the strike damages the economy - A court injunction was granted, limiting the strike's scope; but the union vowed to strike anyway within the court's limits

[HELP] U.S.-Taiwan Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Anyone who has the official text of the MOU signed by the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office on January 15, 2026? Any leads appreciated — throwing this out to the trade crowd. Thanks! 🙏

"Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he declined to answer Xi’s question about whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan. Trump said he would decide about selling weapons to Taiwan. 'I made no commitment either way,' he said. 'The last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.'"

US Section 122 Tariffs The Trump administration asked the United States Court of International Trade to pause a ruling that declared the president’s latest 10 % global tariffs unlawful while the government appeals.

@sumsung.bsky.social has a big problem. And it's not just about chips. AI is booming. Profits are soaring. But one question is getting louder: who gets the money? A strike threat has been rattling Samsung for months, quietly holding global chip supply hostage. My latest KTTW piece unpacks it all.👇

"The first project is reportedly an energy infrastructure initiative, such as the construction of a LNG export terminal in Louisiana... both countries will establish and operate the 'Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center' in Washington, D.C., within this year."

This week, the #WTO General Council considered Korea's statement: "Preserving the Spirit of Open and Predictable Trade: Collective Restraint Against Actions Undermining Trade Liberalization" docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages...

Big news on the Section 122 tariffs -- US Court of International Trade just ruled against them.

"From Germany and France to Finland and the Netherlands, a growing number of politicians are questioning the wisdom of handing over critical operations and troves of sensitive data to a few giants tied to Washington."

Follow-up: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry responded to U.S. Republican lawmakers’ concerns over alleged discrimination against U.S. companies, including Coupang, saying “measures such as the Coupang investigation are being carried out fairly and without discrimination under domestic law.”

"Trump made the remarks... a day after he wrote on social media that Iran had 'taken some shots' at the ship and other targets, and that it is time for South Korea to join a mission to free up shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz."

Last week, USTR spotlighted South Korea’s network usage fees in its “Craziest Foreign Trade Barriers Facing American Exporters” thread: x.com/USTradeRep/s... Seoul rejected claims of discrimination against U.S. companies as contrary to the facts and said no law has been passed mandating such fees.

This ruling is a landmark for the U.S. Big Tech tax controversy in Seoul: "At the center of the controversy is whether the payments made by Netflix's Korean unit to a Dutch affiliate should be treated as ‘copyright royalties’ or ’business profits.‘”

Another update: A joint letter of protest from 83 Korean lawmakers against U.S. defense of Coupang will be delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. It calls tying Coupang Chairman Bom Kim’s personal safety to high-level security talks a “clear infringement on [South Korea's] judicial sovereignty.”

”The decision marks an extraordinary late-stage intervention by Beijing, involving two non-Chinese companies. Meta had already begun to integrate software from Manus, which was founded in China but relocated to Singapore last year.“

S Korea’s National Security Advisor acknowledged that "the Coupang issue is weighing on security consultations with the U.S." Seoul is in discussions with Washington on the position that the matter should proceed through legal channels, while security negotiations move forward on a separate track.

"There is no conclusive evidence that South Korea has subjected Coupang to an unusual level of scrutiny, according to @anupamchander.bsky.social, the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown University."

A total of 54 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the South Korean Ambassador, urging an end to what they described as "targeted and discriminatory actions against U.S. companies" including Coupang.

[SBS Exclusive] The arbitration talks between Korea’s Justice Ministry and Coupang’s U.S. investors, following the investors’ ISDS notice of intent, have effectively collapsed within the deadline. The investors reportedly requested the lifting of various administrative measures imposed on Coupang.

[SBS News Exclusive] The U.S. has conveyed to South Korea that high-level consultations would be difficult unless Coupang Chairman Bom Kim’s legal security is guaranteed. This pulls a private company matter into the diplomatic and security realm, and Seoul is understood to have effectively declined.

At a US House Appropriations Committee hearing on the FY2027 budget, USTR Greer responded to Rep. Cline’s concerns over South Korea’s digital trade policies. Cline called Seoul’s approach discriminatory; Greer said the US is holding Korea accountable and flagged Section 301 as an option if needed.

"Regardless of what these deals [Trump administration’s reciprocal trade agreements] may achieve, however, they and other bilateral and regional deals do not address the issue of trade remedies. For that, the WTO remains the only game in town."

South Korea's amended Network Act – modeled on the EU's DSA – takes effect in July, but Washington is pushing back, viewing it as a potential threat to free speech and an undue burden on American tech companies, notably YouTube. In my new Korea Tech & Trade Watch analysis, I unpack what's at stake.

Surprise!

🎉🥳🎊🙌🍾🎁🍀

Memory chips are taking over the world!

"What does it look like when MAGA-esque politics take root abroad, particularly among young people on the right? That experiment is now playing out in South Korea."

With this year’s USTR NTE report out, I’m resurfacing my Korea Tech & Trade Watch analyses below on Korea’s digital trade barriers flagged in the report, including the newly added Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Procurement challenging the Lee administration’s sovereign AI initiative.

"Talks would now continue in Geneva after the impasse on prolonging the moratorium, said the WTO conference chair... In what is seen as a test for the WTO’s relevance... diplomats said ministers got stuck on extending the moratorium beyond more than two ⁠years following objections from Brazil."

"... US officials have linked any extension of the moratorium to their agreement on the broader WTO reform workplan... A shorter, two-year moratorium deal could prompt Washington to withhold its support for the work plan — a move that risked derailing talks entirely..."

“Working on the sidelines of a WTO summit in Cameroon, the EU and 12-nation CPTPP bloc — which includes the U.K. and Canada — have resolved to launch talks on a deal that would set rules for how digital services trade flows, how electronic contracts are signed and how data is stored and governed.”

This is a classic example of what Korean tech companies have long complained about — favorable treatment for U.S. tech companies and reverse discrimination against domestic ones. If Samsung Pay is a "public good," why isn't Apple Pay held to the same standard in Seoul?

"The safeguards include a ​potential suspension clause, among others, and lawmakers insist the U.S. remove 50% duties imposed a month after ​the Turnberry deal on the steel and aluminium content of products such as wind turbines ⁠and motorcycles."

Even after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office and sentenced to life over his martial law declaration, his supporters in Seoul seem encouraged that former PM Hwang Kyo-ahn may amplify election fraud claims in Korea — a political headache for Lee Jae Myung’s administration.

60 Minutes summary: The U.S. wants more ships built at home, but is making it harder to train new workers and pricier to build them in America.

Well, that didn't take long.

US-Japan Summit D-1: "Now Ms. Takaichi faces the delicate task of finding a way to signal support for Mr. Trump without getting entangled in the war. She must do so in the high pressure forum of the White House, over lunch and dinner with a president who seems increasingly impatient and aggrieved."

EU digital regulations get most of the attention, but South Korea is very active here as well, and @haeyoonkim.bsky.social is the one to read to find out what’s actually going on with these regulations. Here's her latest on public sector cloud rules and US claims of "discrimination."

U.S. House Republicans’ March 3 letter to USTR Greer put South Korea’s cloud rules in the spotlight. My new Korea Tech & Trade Watch piece unpacks what is at stake as another USTR Section 301 probe into digital trade looms.