[US-ROK Tariff War] Americans want Korea to fix their aging power grids from 1960s

After U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced plans to raise tariffs, U.S. officials reportedly demanded energy-related investments when they met again with South Korea’s negotiating team.

In addition to the already known discussions on nuclear power, it has been confirmed that the two sides held in-depth talks on Korean companies participating in projects to replace aging power grids in the United States.

This is a report by Lee Ji-soo.

Following President Trump’s announcement of tariff hikes, Industry and Trade Minister Kim Jeong-kwan, who was dispatched to Washington last week, engaged in a series of negotiations over two days.

He also met with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, during which they discussed energy-sector cooperation—particularly nuclear power generation and projects to modernize aging power grids.

A government official said, “We are not yet at a stage where we can disclose specific projects,” but added that “both South Korea and the United States agree that Korean companies can invest in the U.S. power grid and generate returns.”

Kim Jeong-kwan / Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (January 31)

“There were a variety of discussions between South Korea and the United States regarding cooperation in the nuclear power sector.”

Small modular reactors (SMRs), where U.S. technology is considered more advanced than Korea’s, do not appear to be an area in which Washington is seeking Korean investment.

The United States—already the world’s leading power in artificial intelligence—wants to further expand its AI industry, but its power grid has become a bottleneck.

Much of the grid was built in the 1960s, making it difficult to support the massive electricity demands of large data centers, while the need for equipment replacement is rapidly increasing.

As a result, Washington appears to be using tariffs as leverage to draw foreign investment into its power grid infrastructure.

Japan is also reportedly being considered, with Hitachi’s large-scale power generation project mentioned as one of the candidates for a “first investment project.”

Although negotiations spanning industry, trade, and diplomacy are unfolding on multiple fronts—similar to last year’s trade talks—the outlook remains highly uncertain.

U.S. officials are reportedly treating the publication of reciprocal tariff increases in the Federal Register as a foregone conclusion, with South Korean officials openly acknowledging that the immediate priority is to buy time.

Yeo Han-koo / Head of Trade Negotiations

“What matters is whether, even if the tariff hike is published in the Federal Register, it takes effect immediately, or whether there is a grace period of one or two months…”