SEOUL: South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new US tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July, Seoul’s delegation in Washington said after a first round of trade talks.
The US and South Korea had a “very successful” meeting on Thursday (Apr 24), US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said afterwards.
“We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week,” he told reporters.
Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun.
Neither side provided details on possible areas of agreement. South Korea said in a statement it requested exemptions from reciprocal and item-specific US tariffs, and that it offered cooperation on shipbuilding and energy and in addressing trade imbalances.
“I think we had a very good start today,” Ahn said.
“We also agreed to hold working-level talks next week to determine the scope and structure of talks, with the goal of producing a ‘July package’ by Jul 8.”
Choi said more talks will be held in South Korea on May 15 and 16 with Greer.
“Discussions will focus on four key areas: tariffs and non-tariff measures, economic security, investment cooperation, and currency policy,” Choi said.
Despite US optimism, trade experts expect the two sides to be unlikely to reach a deal before South Korea’s June presidential election.
“It seems that South Korea is in cautious mode, while the US is on a fast track,” said Heo Yoon, an international trade professor at Sogang University in Seoul.
