South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo speaks at a meeting of a parliamentary committee on industry and trade at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 4, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will work to establish a new “mutually beneficial” strategic partnership with the United States through bilateral trade negotiations, Seoul’s chief trade negotiator said Friday, as he departed for Washington for tariff talks ahead of the expiration of a 90-day pause on U.S. reciprocal tariffs.
“Based on the progress made in the consultations so far, we will do our utmost to ensure that Korean companies are not placed at a disadvantage compared to other countries with the imposition of reciprocal tariffs,” Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul.
“We will use this tariff negotiation as an opportunity to establish a new framework for a mutually beneficial strategic partnership between South Korea and the U.S.,” he added.
During his trip to Washington this weekend, Yeo is scheduled to hold talks with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and other senior U.S. trade officials to speed up negotiations as the deadline for the resumption of the Donald Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs approaches.
The trip comes just a week after Yeo met with his U.S. counterpart in Washington, where he highlighted Seoul’s commitment to “good-faith” trade talks with the Trump administration.
During this week’s visit, the Korean trade chief plans to discuss potential partnership to support a “manufacturing renaissance” in the U.S. and exchange opinions on key trade issues raised by the U.S., according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
During a parliamentary session earlier in the day, Yeo said the U.S. has asked for greater access to South Korea’s agriculture, automotive, digital and service markets in recent bilateral trade consultations.
Yeo Han-koo (R), South Korea’s new trade minister, poses for a photo with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (L) and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during their meeting in Washington on June 23, 2025, in this file photo released by the South Korean industry ministry. (Yonhap)
The trade minister did not provide further details on Washington’s requests, which appeared to reflect issues raised in the USTR’s recent report on foreign trade barriers.
The USTR report had pointed to a number of non-tariff trade measures by Seoul, including an import ban on American beef from cattle aged 30 months or older, emission-related regulations on imported cars, proposed online platform regulations and restrictions on the export of location-based data.
“The government will respond flexibly, taking into consideration the level of demands from the U.S. side, as well as political and security sensitivities in Korea,” Yeo said.
“Depending on the progress of the negotiations, we will also actively push for extending the suspension of U.S. reciprocal tariffs, if needed,” he added, vowing to accelerate trade talks and reach an agreement with the U.S. “at the earliest possible date.”
The trade consultations between Seoul and Washington have been centered around six areas — balanced trade, non-tariff measures, economic security, digital trade, the country of origin issue and commercial considerations.
South Korea has been seeking to gain a full exemption or reduction from the Trump administration’s 25 percent country-specific reciprocal tariffs, as well as sectoral tariffs on steel, automobiles and other imports, by crafting a package deal on tariff and economic cooperation issues by next Tuesday — when the 90-day pause on the U.S. reciprocal tariffs is set to expire.
(Yonhap)
