Surprise!

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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.

Korea’s PM Kim met with USTR Greer, VP Vance, and President Trump in DC. On digital trade, Kim said: “Regarding the Sec 301 investigation into Korea’s digital regulations, Greer asked whether Korea’s Online Platform Act and amendments to the Information and Comms Network Act follow the EU model."

"She's known for working very long hours and sleeping less than three hours a night."

Here comes the second round of the USTR's Section 301 investigations, this time targeting forced labor across 60 economies.

Here comes the USTR's Sec 301 investigation announcement: "The economies subject to these investigations are: China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India."

I’m sure China and North Korea are celebrating the news.

Coupang’s US investors, Greenoaks and Altimeter, withdrew their Sec 301 petition as USTR signaled broader Sec 301 investigations into South Korea’s "unfair trade practices affecting American companies, including discrimination against US technology companies and their digital goods and services."

Happy to share that I spoke with @financialtimes.com about the Coupang case and the broader view in Washington that South Korea's tech regulations unfairly target American tech companies.

Congresswoman Carol Miller and her colleagues wrote a letter to USTR Greer urging him "to take action against South Korea's discriminatory treatment of American cloud providers."

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said "the ​U.S. and South Korean militaries are discussing the possible redeployment of some ‌U.S. Patriot missile defence systems based in South Korea to be used in the war against Iran."

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party "agreed Wednesday to pass a special U.S. investment bill without delay in consideration of the national interest, with a parliamentary vote expected on March 12."

USTR Greer's speech at UVA Law: "International law cannot be a suicide pact. International law cannot stand in the way of peace and prosperity. International law cannot undermine national sovereignty."

I wonder what the nuclear-armed North Korean rocket man is thinking watching this.

Today, South Korea conditionally approved the overseas transfer of its high-precision map data to Google, marking a first. Ahead of the USTR’s 2026 NTE report and possible Section 301 action in March, Seoul appears to be easing what Washington sees as a "digital trade barrier."

Taiwan’s response to Coupang’s data leak: Authorities said an inspection team visited Coupang Taiwan and “found deficiencies in its handling of personal information,” adding they will “continue reviewing forensics and investigating the case under relevant regulations, with follow-up action to come."

"... the move signals the Trump administration is reverting to a more confrontational approach as some foreign countries seek limits around how Silicon Valley firms process and store their citizens' personal information - initiatives often described as 'data sovereignty' or 'data localization.'"

Update on Coupang - New Leak Involving TAIWAN-Based Accounts:

Following SCOTUS’s IEEPA tariff ruling, USTR Greer pledged new Section 301 probes into "unjustifiable, unreasonable, discriminatory, and burdensome acts, policies, and practices." For South Korea, the flag: “discrimination against U.S. technology companies and digital goods and services."

"Now, after the court decision constraining Mr. Trump’s trade cudgel, countries throughout Asia are left wondering if they made a mistake in quickly finalizing deals with Mr. Trump and whether existing agreements will stand."

The Early Negotiators’ Dilemma? EU($600B), Japan($550B), Korea($350B), and Taiwan($500B) moved early, accepting U.S. terms and tying tariff talks to big investment pledges. Now, for at least the next 150 days, they face the same 10% Section 122 tariff as countries that negotiated later or stalled.

"Section 122 only authorizes tariffs in the presence of a fundamental international payments problem. Because the United States does not face such a problem, Section 122 cannot legally be used by President Trump to impose new tariffs."

Separation of powers does exist in this country. God bless 🇺🇸

With the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaing Coupang Korea’s interim CEO for a deposition next week, I’m sharing a “Coupang Case Explainer” on Korea Tech & Trade Watch—key material from my first Coupang piece plus updates, including Korea's Science Ministry briefing on the data leak last week.

Having worked for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics myself, and knowing how geopolitically vulnerable the Olympics can be, this is just heartbreaking. Russian athletes linked to past doping cases have competed, while a Ukrainian athlete was disqualified for wearing a “helmet of remembrance.”

The agreement ends a disadvantage for Taiwan as the new US tariff of 15% puts it on a par with America's other important trading partners, like Japan and South Korea. By @aimewilliams.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/c7e1...

"Asked about the US pressure on South Korea, Akazawa said... 'We’ve reached the stage of forming specific projects,' ... 'We’re proceeding with the mindset that our country is leading other nations.'"

This WSJ story about a Chinese auto-glass plant in Ohio is interesting less as a China story than as a window into the challenges of U.S. industrial policy going forward. 1/ www.wsj.com/business/tar...

In my view, this is the crux: "As for Coupang’s claims that the South Korean government is attacking it because it is a foreign company, @anupamchander.bsky.social said, 'There’s something interesting in … trying to figure out whether Coupang is an American company or a Korean company.'”

Now who's finally ready for the constitutional revision?

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House Judiciary Republicans, Jordan and Fitzgerald, subpoenaed Coupang Korea interim head Rogers, seeking Feb 23 testimony and his communications with Korea’s presidential office, government and National Assembly, citing alleged targeting of U.S. tech firms by Korean authorities, including the KFTC.

The European Parliament has voted to "resume work" on ratifying the EU-US trade deal of last summer, which was paused over the Greenland storm. "A vote could therefore potentially take place at the next committee meeting on Tuesday 24 February"

SBS Exclusive: In two DC meetings, Washington urged Seoul to join US nuclear plant builds – prioritized over shipbuilding/LNG/grid – and floated splitting the nuclear projects with Japan. With Japanese PM Takaichi set to unveil US investments next month, US doubts Korea's follow-through amid delays.

"In any event, it appears that the law will not sit well with the US government, whose AI Action Plan is all about pushing the adoption of the US AI technology stack, while the two countries continue to negotiate the Trump tariffs."

After meeting twice in Washington with U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick, South Korea’s MOTIE Minister Kim told reporters that Seoul’s online platform regulations and the Coupang issue “did not come up even once,” adding, “It doesn’t seem to be viewed as something that would affect tariffs.”