Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce | Ballotpedia
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Korean Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Ahn Duk-geun convened the second United States-Korea Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD) Ministerial Meeting on June 27, 2024. The meeting reviewed progress in deepening bilateral economic and commercial cooperation.
Secretary Raimondo and Minister Ahn highlighted significant advancements through SCCD working groups focusing on Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Resilience, Dual-Use Export Controls, Healthcare Technologies, and the Digital Economy. They directed staff to continue discussions via an SCCD critical minerals Sub-Working group to enhance U.S.-Korea critical minerals supply chain collaboration.
The leaders acknowledged growing semiconductor investment cooperation. This includes recent non-binding preliminary memoranda signed by the Department of Commerce with Samsung Electronics for a leading-edge ecosystem in Central Texas, and with Absolics for advanced packaging substrates technology development in Georgia. These developments were celebrated at the U.S.-Korea SCCD Semiconductor Forum held prior to the ministerial meeting.
In healthcare technologies, they noted increased momentum under the SCCD working group. This included a joint telehealth virtual showcase in May 2024 with 72 attendees and a Biopharma Roundtable at the BIO International Convention in San Diego in early June. Both parties committed to strengthening cooperation on healthcare innovation and supply chains.
The Advanced Manufacturing working group also saw meaningful outcomes, including an October 2023 Additive Manufacturing Industry Showcase hosted by Commerce-MOTIE with over 100 participating companies from both countries.
Recognizing the need to protect critical technologies from misuse that could undermine peace and security, Secretary Raimondo and Minister Ahn agreed to continue cooperation under the Dual-Use Export Controls working group to address national security threats while minimizing supply chain disruptions.
Further discussions covered current and future cooperation under the SCCD Digital Economy working group, focusing on standards-related activities and industrial artificial intelligence collaboration between Korean and U.S. companies.
Lastly, they committed to exploring collaborative opportunities in third countries aiming to increase access to investment and global markets for economic enhancement.
