Something in soap is given attention in the country (8)
I believe the answer is:
stearate
'something in soap' is the definition.
(chemical found in soap)
'given attention in the country' is the wordplay.
'given attention' becomes 'ear' (have the ear of someone is to have their attention. I am not sure about the 'given' bit.).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'the country' becomes 'state' ('state' can be a synonym of 'country').
'ear' placed within 'state' is 'STEARATE'.
'is' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for stearate that I've seen is " Chemical".)