Trump confidant Arkansas Gov. Sanders in Seoul for trade talks

Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas governor and long-time confidant of former US President Donald Trump, has shown firm support for her former boss to Korean businesspeople wary of possible changes in US trade policies if a new president takes office next year.

Trump would do a better job as US president than incumbent President Joe Biden, Sanders said on Monday during her meeting with the Asian country’s government and private business officials and leaders in South Korea's capital Seoul, to discuss various trade and investment opportunities between Arkansas and Korea as part of her Asia trip to Japan and Korea.

She made the comment in response to Korean business leaders’ concerns that the new US administration could amend the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) if Trump regains the Oval Office.

Sanders, the first woman to serve as governor of Arkansas and the youngest governor in the US, is being floated as one of Trump’s running mate candidates.

She served as White House Press Secretary for former President Trump from 2017 to 2019. Before that, she joined the Trump campaign as a senior advisor during the Republican primary in 2016 and continued in that role through Trump’s victory that November.

The IRA took effect under the Biden government, suggesting it could undergo drastic changes under a new US administration.

The upcoming US presidential election in November is expected to be a rematch between Trump and Biden.

“(The US) trade policies must remain consistent regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election,” Yoon Jin-sik, the chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), said during his meeting with Governor Sanders on the same day.  

He noted that many Korean companies such as household names Samsung and LG have operations in Arkansas, creating many jobs in the state.

He also urged Sanders to support the pending US bill that grants more E-4 visas annually to Korean employees to ensure Korean companies’ uninterrupted direct investment in the US.

The E-4 visa is a US employment-based visa issued to certain special immigrants. Since the bill was proposed in 2013, it has been pending in the US Congress.

Korean companies have rushed to the US to build factories and open businesses to meet the IRA requirements but with the US government’s very tight visa quotas for Koreans, they are grappling with a labor shortage in the US.

Trade between Arkansas and Korea has been on a steady growth trajectory.

According to Arkansas Economic Development Commission data, Korea is Arkansas’ eighth-largest international trade partner, with the US state's exports to the Asian country exceeding $141 million in 2022, a 26% increase in trade from the previous year.

On the same day, Governor Sanders and KITA Chairman Yoon signed a memorandum of understanding between the State of Arkansas, the KITA and the Korea-US Economic Council to further foster trade and investment between Arkansas and Korea.

KITA is Korea’s largest economic organization with over 7,300 members.

Write to Sang Hoon Sung at uphoon@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.