South Korea's chief trade negotiator plans US visit June 22-27
The visit will include discussions with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and the third round of bilateral technical discussions, a ministry official told Reuters. Further details about the meetings were not disclosed.
"Since a South Korea-U.S. summit has yet to take place and key ministers have not been appointed under the new administration, negotiations are likely to focus on areas that the trade ministry can manage - excluding major issues such as defense cost - sharing and exchange rates," Heo Yoon, an economics professor at Sogang University, said. "Given these circumstances, reaching a comprehensive agreement on key negotiation frameworks and agendas is expected to be challenging."
South Korea, which is currently facing a 10% blanket tariff and a 25% country-specific duty temporarily paused for 90 days, agreed with the U.S. during initial trade negotiations in late April to craft a trade deal reducing tariffs by July 8.
Asia's fourth-largest economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter amid U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and domestic political unrest following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree in December.
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