A senior U.S. state department official said on Thursday that the United States is committed to continuing dialogue with South Korea to address its concerns over the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act(IRA).

Jose Fernandez, the under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment, made the remarks during a forum organized by the Korea Economic Institute in Washington as he discussed the law that excludes electric vehicles made outside North America from tax credits.

Highlighting the significance of the new law, the under secretary noted that the climate impact of the act is projected to be ten times that of any other piece of legislation in U.S. history.

Fernandez added, however, that the goals set out by the IRA cannot be accomplished by the U.S. alone, and the U.S. needs partners like South Korea with strong automotive and battery production industries.

The under secretary said that the U.S. knows there are concerns in South Korea regarding the law, stressing that Washington is committed to continued dialogue with Seoul during the implementation process of the act.

He said that he was glad that the two nations maintain these very open and frank lines of communication.