Kuala lumpur: Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo is set to travel to Malaysia this week for a significant engagement with economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and discussions with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, as announced by Yeo's office on Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy confirmed that Yeo will leave for Malaysia on Tuesday to participate in the ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting scheduled to continue through Friday. On the sidelines of this event, Yeo will engage in talks with Greer to address ongoing trade matters between Seoul and Washington.
Yeo's upcoming meeting with Greer follows their recent discussions in Washington, where they deliberated on the bilateral framework trade agreement achieved in late July. Prior to this, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan had visited New York for talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The framework deal, reached on July 30 between South Korea and the United States, involves the U.S. agreeing to lower "reciprocal" tariffs on Korea and reduce sectoral tariffs on Korean autos to 15 percent from 25 percent. In return, South Korea committed to investing US$350 billion in the United States and made other pledges. However, both parties have yet to finalize the specifics of the investment, such as financing methods and profit-sharing arrangements.
Seoul has proposed establishing a bilateral currency swap with Washington in recent trade discussions, aiming to safeguard Korea's foreign currency exchange market from potential disruptions associated with the $350 billion U.S. investment, as per government officials.
The forthcoming meeting between Yeo and Greer is anticipated to tackle these investment-related issues along with resolving visa complications that emerged following a U.S. immigration raid on over 300 South Koreans at a battery plant construction site in Georgia earlier this month. Additionally, discussions are likely to include Seoul's non-tariff trade measures, such as proposed regulations on online platforms.