Seoul: South Korea will expedite the ongoing trade negotiations with the United States with the new government in place, the new trade minister said Thursday, as Seoul has less than a month to make a deal with Washington before the temporary pause of U.S. reciprocal tariffs ends.
According to Yonhap News Agency, as the country now has a new government that has democratic legitimacy and a clear mandate, South Korea plans to expedite the 'shuttle negotiations' with the U.S. at a trade minister's level. Yeo Han-koo, South Korea's new trade minister, emphasized this approach during his inauguration address, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
Yeo stated that through this process, the government aims to create a new structural framework for mutually beneficial Korea-U.S. cooperation in industry, trade, and investment over the next five years. He further elaborated on working towards a pragmatic and national interest-oriented outcome in the trade talks, focusing on expanding cooperation in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital platforms. The goal is to boost the global competitiveness of Korean industries and foster new growth engines for the economy.
The trade ministry will first establish an all-out response system for trade negotiations with the U.S., expanding the existing task force to comprehensively cover trade, industry, and energy issues. The chief of the working-level representatives on the South Korean side will be elevated from the current director level to the first-class senior level, Yeo explained. He emphasized that as much as South Korea needs the United States, the United States also needs Korea.
South Korea has been engaging in trade negotiations with the U.S. on tariffs, non-tariff measures, and other issues, with both sides agreeing to craft a package deal by July 8. This timeline coincides with the end of the U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's suspension of "reciprocal" tariffs. The Trump administration had imposed 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on South Korea in early April, citing issues with Seoul's trade surplus with Washington and non-tariff barriers.
Yeo's appointment as trade minister by President Lee Jae-myung, who took office last week, reflects the urgency of South Korea's tariff negotiations with the U.S. The U.S. has a significant influence on South Korea's export-dependent economy. Yeo, a seasoned bureaucrat with trade expertise, previously served as trade minister under the former Moon Jae-in administration and was involved in renegotiating the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) in 2018.
From 2023, Yeo has served as a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, bringing his extensive experience and expertise to the current negotiations.