Washington: The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States are set to hold talks in Washington this week, as announced by South Korea's foreign ministry. This meeting comes against the backdrop of uncertainties surrounding their trade agreement following U.S. President Donald Trump's recent warning of a potential tariff hike.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will engage in a one-on-one discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday. The discussions will focus on efforts to advance the summit agreements made between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, particularly concerning the trade deal. Cho is also in Washington to participate in a U.S.-led ministerial meeting on critical minerals supply chains scheduled for Wednesday.
This meeting between Cho and Rubio will be their first since President Trump threatened to increase the reciprocal tariff on South Korean goods from 15 percent to 25 percent. This threat was made in response to delays in Seoul's legislative process required to advance the trade deal. The two diplomats are expected to have broad consultations on pressing bilateral issues, including measures to accelerate the implementation of follow-up actions outlined in the joint summit document from meetings in August and October of the previous year.
Cho's visit underscores the urgency for Seoul to address these matters with its ally. This follows a recent trip to the U.S. by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, which showed limited progress in assuaging Washington's concerns about the trade deal implementation. After meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Kim indicated that while no conclusion was reached, the meeting was valuable in resolving "unnecessary misunderstandings."
As per the joint fact sheet, South Korea has committed to investing US$350 billion in the United States. This includes $200 billion in cash installments with an annual cap of $20 billion, in return for a reduction in the tariff rate. A ruling party lawmaker mentioned that efforts are underway to ensure the National Assembly passes a special bill to implement the investment package by the end of this month or early March.
During a panel discussion with journalists in Seoul last week, Cho emphasized that Trump's tariff threat should not be perceived as a breakdown of the trade agreement but rather as a step in the process to implement the deal.