Renault appoints procurement expert as Korean chief
According to the announcement, Paris will officially begin his Korean CEO tenure on Sept. 1. Stephen Deblaise, current CEO of Renault Korea, has been appointed to lead Renault India starting on the same date.
Paris has an extensive 20-year resume in the global auto industry. Before joining Renault Group in 2015, he served as a corporate purchasing director for Bosch's Asia-Pacific region. At Renault, Paris held various positions, taking on purchasing leadership roles in China and India and working as alliance global director of APO platform and chassis for Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.
Since 2023, he has played an integral role in Renault Group's technological innovation and transition towards electric vehicles as procurement vice president of e-powertrain, battery, driver assistance connectivity and software.
Deblaise took the top position at the Korean branch in March 2022 and successfully launched Renault Group's Aurora project. As part of the group's international strategy, the project sought to build new vehicles at the automaker's Busan plant, where it debuted the new Grand Koleos sport utility vehicle. The French brand has sold over 45,000 units of the SUV since its release in September 2024.
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![[Editorial] Beef and barriers](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
[Editorial] Beef and barriers
Trade tensions rise over beef and investments, with economic growth hanging in the balance As the Aug. 1 deadline for US reciprocal tariffs approaches, South Korea faces intensifying pressure to make politically sensitive trade concessions. Nowhere is this tension more visible than in the dispute over American beef. On July 24, US President Donald Trump took to social media to praise Australia's decision to open its beef market — including imports of cattle over 30 months old — and warned that countries refusing 'magnificent' US beef were 'on notice.' Among major US trade partners, South Korea now stands alone in maintaining such restrictions. What's at stake is more than beef. South Korea is racing to avert the imposition of 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on a range of exports. These duties would hit at a precarious moment for its manufacturing base, already strained by stagnant domestic demand and mounting global uncertainty. In recent talks in Washington and New York, South Korean officials proposed a revised investment package totaling over $100 billion and offered limited concessions on rice and beef — areas long deemed untouchable. Yet US negotiators, emboldened by recent deals with Japan and the UK, are demanding more. The comparison with Japan has become particularly thorny. Tokyo secured a reduction in reciprocal tariffs to 15 percent in exchange for a $550 billion investment commitment and broader market access for US agricultural and auto exports. South Korea's proposed investment, though substantial, remains well short of that mark. More troubling, if South Korean exports are hit with 25 percent tariffs while Japan's face only 15 percent, Korean manufacturers would suffer an immediate and damaging competitiveness gap. Recent earnings reports from Hyundai and Kia already show steep profit declines, driven in part by early US tariffs on automobiles. Extending such disadvantages across additional sectors could deepen South Korea's growth malaise and leave long-term economic scars. The options are narrowing, but not yet exhausted. Seoul has signaled a more flexible posture, suggesting it may allow partial openings of the beef market and step back from earlier prohibitions. Unlike Japan's investment-heavy deal, however, South Korea is positioning its offer around industrial cooperation, particularly in shipbuilding — a sector President Trump has prioritized for revival. With China expanding its maritime footprint, Washington may be receptive to deeper strategic ties with Seoul in shipbuilding, semiconductors and batteries. South Korea has framed these offers not merely as trade-offs, but as building blocks of a broader manufacturing alliance aligned with US supply chain objectives. Still, the outlook remains uncertain. Trump and key trade officials are now in Europe for parallel negotiations, leaving only July 30 and 31 as viable windows for a final agreement. Absent a breakthrough, the tariffs will take effect on Aug. 1. Analysts warn that if the US proceeds with a 25 percent tariff, South Korea's real gross domestic product could decline by as much as 0.4 percent, even under a gradual adjustment scenario. Medium-sized exporters would be hit hardest, lacking the scale to shift production or absorb the cost shock. South Korea's negotiators must weigh the costs of limited market concessions against the broader fallout of failure. While agricultural sensitivities are real, clinging to legacy protections may imperil national economic interests. Other countries have accepted sectoral compromises in return for tariff relief and market stability. South Korea must now craft a tailored approach that secures similar benefits without replicating others' terms. Avoiding a blanket concession is essential, as is avoiding blanket resistance. If Seoul cannot match Tokyo's dollar commitments, it must compensate with industrial leverage, strategic alignment and diplomatic finesse. These final days of negotiation will test its ability to safeguard the economic base while sustaining political and public consensus at home. Never has it been clearer that small concessions now could prevent far greater losses later.
Korea Herald
13 hours ago
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SPC to end overtime night shifts after presidential rebuke
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Korea Herald
15 hours ago
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Final week of US-Korea trade talks sees shipbuilding as key
Seoul is racing to finalize a tariff deal with Washington before the Aug. 1 deadline, as Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol prepares to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday in a bid to avert a 25 percent tariff on Korean exports, including autos. According to the industry and government sources on Sunday, the meeting between Koo and Bessent has been rescheduled for Thursday, likely at the US Treasury Department. Their meeting was initially planned for Friday with Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, but was postponed by the US side. Korea's industry and trade chiefs, who are currently visiting the US, will remain there to continue last-minute high-level negotiations. To their US counterparts, they have outlined plans for cooperation in key strategic manufacturing sectors such as semiconductors, shipbuilding and batteries, while strongly urging tariff reductions on items such as automobiles. The Korean government has presented a revised proposal that includes sensitive agricultural and livestock products, going further than its initial offer to address US concerns. Washington, however, is reportedly pressuring Seoul for greater concessions. The tight schedule remains a major hurdle. The US is to hold trade talks with the European Union on Sunday, and is set to conduct high-level trade meetings with China on Monday and Tuesday, leaving only Wednesday and Thursday available for negotiations with Korea. Last week, Japan secured a reduction in tariffs on its auto exports to the US, with rates falling from 27.5 percent to 15 percent, after offering a $550 billion investment package. The deal has increased pressure on Korea, whose auto industry still faces the full 25 percent tariff. As Japan, Korea's key rival in the sector, gains an upper hand, Seoul is reportedly preparing a $100 billion package, along with additional commitments, to remain competitive Given that the US' ultimate goal is to revive its manufacturing sector, Seoul is focusing on leveraging industrial cooperation, particularly in the shipbuilding sector, where Korea holds a competitive edge. 'We confirmed the US has a strong interest in shipbuilding and agreed to work on mutually acceptable solutions, including bilateral cooperation in the sector," Korea's presidential office said Saturday. Trump has repeatedly stressed the importance of strengthening the US' shipbuilding industry and issued an executive order in April aimed at revitalizing the sector and curbing China's maritime dominance. Experts warn that the US tariffs, if maintained at the threatening 25 percent level, are expected to hit Korea's manufacturing sector the hardest. It accounts for 27.6 percent of Korea's economy — well above the OECD average — and exports make up 44 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. The US auto tariffs have already impacted Korea's leading automakers. Hyundai Motor and Kia both reported weaker earnings in the April-June period: Kia's operating profit plunged 24.1 percent, while Hyundai's figure dropped 15.8 percent. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy has warned that Korea's real GDP could shrink by up to 0.4 percent if the US tariffs are implemented as initially planned. 'If the US' 'reciprocal' tariffs of 25 percent take place, Korea's real GDP can decrease by 0.3-0.4 percent even after the economy stabilizes," the institute said in a public hearing in June. With Japan recently securing a tariff reduction to 15 percent, Korea's growth prospects are expected to worsen under a higher rate, given that the two countries have similar export portfolios to the US. Korea's already stagnant growth outlook — currently projected at below 1 percent — would also likely face a further downgrade if the 25 percent reciprocal tariff is imposed. According to the Bank of Korea on July 24, the country's growth rate is likely to remain around the May forecast of 0.8 percent, in the case that the tariff rate is lowered to 15 percent, similar to Japan's. The rate could fall to zero if the tariff is set at 25 percent. US President Donald Trump said that his administration will have most of its trade deals with countries finished by Aug. 1. The president also said his administration might send letters to close to 200 countries informing them of their tariff rate, which he said means, "They have a deal. It's done."
