Joe Biden

ICYMI: President Biden Tours Samsung Factory in First Stop of Asia Trip, Highlighting Strength of Economic Ties

May 20, 2022

In the first stop of his Asia trip, President Biden joined President of the Republic Korea (ROK) Yoon Suk Yeol for a tour a Samsung semiconductor factory, showcasing the strength of US-ROK economic ties in creating good paying jobs at home.

The Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus will serve as a model for the new Samsung plan being built in Taylor, Texas, and demonstrates how international trade alliances can help bring manufacturing investment to the United States that creates good paying jobs and strengthens our nation's supply chains.

"Our two nations work together to make the best, most advanced technology in the world, and this factory is proof of that," said Biden in remarks at the plant, emphasizing that it "gives both the Republic of Korea and the United States a competitive edge in the global economy if we can keep our supply chains resilient, reliable and secure."

"With today's visit, I hope that Korea-U.S. relations will be reborn as an economic and security alliance based on high-tech and supply chain cooperation," said President Yoon Suk Yeul.

Read Coverage below:

AP: Biden: SKorean chip plant a model for deeper ties to Asia
[Aamer Madhani, 5/20/22]

President Joe Biden opened a trip to Asia on Friday by touring a South Korean computer chip factory that will be the model for another plant in Texas, offering it as a way to deepen ties with the Indo Pacific and fuel technological innovation and foster vibrant democracies.

[…]

Biden was seeking to frame business collaboration and foreign investment in the U.S. as part of his broader economic goals, and also good for him domestically. He was to appear Sunday in Seoul, South Korea, with the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group on Hyundai's decision to invest in a new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Savannah, Georgia.

Throughout the five-day visit to South Korea and Japan, Biden will grapple with a multitude of foreign policy issues as he tries to explain their relevance to the American public. In his remarks Friday, Biden did not mention China, which has emerged as a prime competitor with the U.S., yet he stressed the value of alliances that currently exclude that country.

The Korea Herald: Biden, Yoon commit to enhancing economic, technology cooperation against supply chain challenges
[Ji Da-Gyum, 5/20/22]

The leaders of South Korea and the United States on Friday committed to enhancing economic and technology cooperation to build secure and resilient global supply chains and surmount challenges.

US President Joe Biden kicked off his three-day trip to South Korea with a tour of Samsung Electronics' chip-manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

President Yoon Suk-yeol accompanied him as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong guided them through the facility, which is a model for the new Samsung semiconductor plant being built in Taylor, Texas.

The visit by the leaders "manifests the strong will to resolve global supply chain challenges by strengthening the South Korea-US economic security alliance," the South Korean presidential office said on Friday.

Reuters: First stop Samsung: Biden touts South Korean role in securing global supply chains
[Trevor Hunnicutt, 5/20/22]

Joe Biden's first stop on his inaugural trip to Asia as U.S. president on Friday was a massive Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) semiconductor plant, underscoring a message of economic security with an eye on China and the war in Ukraine.

[…]

Biden said the future would be written in the Indo-Pacific and now was the time for the United States and like-minded partners to invest in each other.

The two leaders toured the plant, which the White House called a model for a new $17 billion factory that Samsung plans to build in Taylor, Texas.

"With today's visit, I hope that Korea-U.S. relations will be reborn as an economic and security alliance based on high-tech and supply chain cooperation," Yoon said.

WaPo: Biden arrives in South Korea at start of Asia trip
[Cleve Wootson, 5/20/22]

President Biden touched down in South Korea on Friday in the first visit to Asia of his presidency, kicking off a five-day tour designed to underscore his administration's diplomatic and economic commitment to the region in the face of a rising China.

[…]

The president also promoted the two nations' close ties, particularly on jobs, as he and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took turns promoting the advancements in technology illustrated by the Samsung facility that served as Biden's first official stop on the trip.

"Our two nations work together to make the best, most advanced technology in the world, and this factory is proof of that," Biden said to a crowd of 200 people at the plant, located about an hour south of Seoul. "That gives both the Republic of Korea and the United States a competitive edge in the global economy if we can keep our supply chains resilient, reliable and secure."

USAToday: Biden visits Samsung plant in South Korea to reinforce Asia alliance
[Maureen Groppe, 5/20/22]

President Joe Biden began his five-day Asia trip with a visit to a Samsung semiconductor plant Friday, a stop meant to demonstrate the growing cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea on technology and other issues.

Biden used the stop to advocate for final passage of a bipartisan bill that the White House says will reduce costs for Americans and help to ease inflation if congressional negotiators can reach a deal. The legislation is intended to boost chip production and guard against future interruptions to the supply chain.

Joseph R. Biden, ICYMI: President Biden Tours Samsung Factory in First Stop of Asia Trip, Highlighting Strength of Economic Ties Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/356032

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