US, South Korea Agree to Pursue Trade Deal Ahead of Tariff Deadline

Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent says the high-level meetings were “very successful.”

South Korea and the US agreed on Thursday to pursue a trade deal that would help Seoul avoid U.S. tariffs before President Donald Trump ends the 90-day suspension on mutual tariffs.

South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok announced the contract after he and Industry Minister Anne Duk Gae-woon held a meeting between Washington Treasury Secretary Scott Becent and trade representative Jamie Son Greer.

“We believe that both sides have come to share their understanding that they will create a “July Package” aimed at removing (US) tariffs by July 8th, when the mutual tariff suspension ends.”

The trade package, according to Choi, will focus on four areas between the two countries: major and non-tariff measures, economic security, investment cooperation and monetary policy.

Bescent said the high-level meeting with South Korean officials was “very successful” and that both sides agreed to immediately begin consultations on the technical terms of the agreement.

“We may be moving faster than we thought, and we’ll be speaking the terminology sooner next week,” he told White House reporters. “So the Koreans came early and they came in their A-game and we’ll see if they’ll continue with it.”

Neither government has issued a joint statement on trade talks yet.

Trump announced numerous mutual tariffs in almost every country on April 2, including a 25% tariff on South Korea’s automobile, steel and aluminum imports.

The president then allowed most countries to suspend 90 days, allowing time for negotiations.

Korea’s concerns

Choi said his delegation raised South Korea’s concerns during trade, talking about the negative impact of tariffs on cars, pointing out that the sector is the most negatively affected.

“We explained the concern that mutual and sectoral tariff imposition could have a negative impact on bilateral economic cooperation. We then conveyed our position that (Korea) exemptions and exceptions from tariffs are needed,” he said.

Choi added that local reports said the two sides would hold “quiet and orderly consultations” to address the tariff issues.

The South Korean government said the meeting was coordinated at US requests. It also followed a telephone conversation between President Trump and Trump on April 8, representative East Asian nation, Han Duck Thor.

Trump said they discussed tariffs, liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Alaska Gas Project and “payments for the massive military protections they provide to South Korea.”

“Their top teams are on planes heading to the US and things look good,” Trump said. “We’re dealing with a lot of other countries as well. They all want to do business with the US.”

Following the speech, Han said South Korea expressed its desire to strengthen its alliance with the US and strengthen its trade balance, shipbuilding and LNG cooperation.

“We hope that our bilateral alliance with the United States, the backbone of our diplomacy and security, will expand and strengthen further under the new US administration,” he said.

South Korea’s economy is vulnerable to potential trade losses from US tariffs, as most of its revenue comes from products from around the world, particularly products exported to the US market.

According to reports from the economic complexity outlook, the country’s best exports are integrated circuits, cars and parts, refined oil, passenger and freighter ships.

In February, South Korea saw an increase in exports year-on-year, driven primarily by increased exports to the US, Singapore and Vietnam, the report said.

Jacob Berg and Reuters contributed to this report.