Korea, US to carry high-level tariff talks in Washington this week

South Korea and the US will maintain tariff talks in Washington, DC later this week, the Korean authorities mentioned Sunday.

In accordance with the announcement, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Financial system and Finance Choi Sang-mok and Minister of Commerce, Trade and Vitality Ahn Duk-geun will attend the levy discussions with their US counterparts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Consultant Jamieson Greer.

The Korean authorities mentioned the commerce session is happening on the request of the US facet and the concerned events are engaged on the schedule and agenda of the assembly.

It added that the commerce session with the US will happen throughout the 2025 Spring Conferences of the World Financial institution Group and the Worldwide Financial Fund, which shall be held from Monday to Saturday in Washington. Regardless of the unconfirmed timeline, they’re anticipated to conduct the discussions between Thursday and Friday.

Earlier within the day, Commerce Minister Ahn mentioned on a stay TV program on native broadcaster KBS that as an alternative of speeding the talks to strike a deal, Korea plans to hold out discussions to allow them to work issues out in a means that may favor either side.

“We’re fastidiously approaching (the high-level commerce discussions),” mentioned Ahn. “We plan to hold out an all-out technique to take away the tariffs on our sturdy US-bound exports reminiscent of automobiles and semiconductors…“

Nonetheless, he added, „The Trump administration’s tariff coverage isn’t completed and tariff points are prone to proceed all through the Trump administration, so you will need to preserve the body of negotiations going as a result of the state of affairs is not going to be resolved even when we’re capable of work by all the pieces now.“

Requested whether or not President Donald Trump may present as much as the talks like he did with the Japanese delegates, Ahn mentioned the Korean facet is preserving that in thoughts and getting ready for that as a attainable state of affairs.

Because the US raised the problem of protection cost-sharing with Japan, Ahn mentioned that though Washington has not talked about something associated to that finish, within the occasion that it does, Korea plans to relay the US‘ stance to the related authorities, which is able to reply accordingly.“

hwkan@heraldcorp.com