FKI and the U.S. Chamber ask Seoul and Washington to clear visas and permits before $350 billion moves

The request from the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce turns on one word, "first" ^[1]. Seoul Economic Daily's account of the meeting does not include a count of delayed visas or stalled permits, so the sequencing rests on the groups' own assertion.

FKI Chairman Ryu Jin framed the handoff in his opening address, saying the strategic investments had entered a full-scale implementation phase ^[6]. "From now on, it is companies' turn," he said ^[7]. In our view a company handed the turn has an interest in naming its conditions early, before anyone asks why a project is late.

The scale explains the urgency. Korean direct investment in the U.S. ran $206.3 billion over the ten years from 2016 through last year, or $20.6 billion a year on average, according to the Export-Import Bank of Korea ^[9]. The $350 billion pledge is 1.7 times that decade's total ^[11], or 17 years of the average annual flow ^[10]. Any deployment period shorter than 17 years means a yearly pace above the decade's average.

We think the groups are right that people and permits bind early on construction-heavy projects such as the Texas plant ^[12]. Three outcomes would cut against that. If financing, offtake or project scope sets the pace, the visa request is simply the part of the list governments can answer fastest. If the Korean design and construction teams reach Texas on schedule, the case for visas as the first obstacle weakens, or rather the case for them as the binding one does. And if the two governments clear the queue before the joint statement is even adopted, the test moves to whatever comes next on the list.