According to Yonhap News,
KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) will be relocating its North America Regional Headquarters from New York to Washington, D.C.
This move is a strategic response to the new U.S. government's trade policy, which emphasizes strong protectionist measures such as universal tariffs.
On January 12th, KOTRA announced that President Kang Kyung-seong revealed this plan during a meeting on trade and investment expansion strategies in North America, held on January 10th (local time), which he chaired at the KOTRA Trade Center in Silicon Valley, California.
Ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, President Kang visited the U.S. to review the current issues regarding U.S. exports and investments and to explore new opportunities with the heads of the North America Regional Headquarters and 10 trade centers.
During the meeting, President Kang announced the relocation of KOTRA’s North America Regional Headquarters to Washington, D.C., to enhance monitoring developments of the U.S. government and strengthen communication with key figures.
This relocation is a measure to reflect the growing importance of trade, aiming to strengthen local monitoring, quickly disseminate information to governments and businesses, build U.S.-centered supply chains, and leverage opportunities arising from the U.S.-China decoupling policy, President Kang emphasized.
He also urged the heads of trade centers to "strengthen local monitoring as U.S. key economic and trade policies are expected to be quickly implemented at the early days of the new administration" and to "quickly share information and identify new business opportunities for our companies."
Additionally, he anticipated rapid changes in the new U.S. administration's policies and stressed the need for a top-down approach in business strategy, stating that "KOTRA must play a crucial role in gathering and providing relevant information."
President Kang particularly expects increased collaboration opportunities with the U.S. in manufacturing sectors where Korean companies have strengths, such as energy carrying ships, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in shipbuilding, and biosimilars and generic drugs in the bio industry.
He said, "Based on U.S. policies and market demand, opportunities for Korean companies to expand in areas such as automotive parts, power equipment, shipbuilding, energy infrastructure, and biotechnology are expected to further grow. KOTRA will do everything possible to ensure that Korean companies with innovative manufacturing technologies can play a key partner role in the new U.S. administration."
dkkim@yna.co.kr
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Source: Yonhap News (January 12, 2025)
** This article was translated from Korean.