Politics
NEW: Trade Deal With Major Trading Partner Expected Within Days
The U.S. and South Korea could finalize a new trade agreement as soon as next week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday after an extensive round of talks between the two nations.
“We had a very successful bilateral meeting,” Bessent told reporters during an Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and the prime minister of Norway. “We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.”
Bessent did not elaborate on what can be expected from the deal with South Korea, a top 15 global economy in terms of nominal GDP
Thursday’s direct talks come after a Trump Administration delegation met with South Korean representatives while conducting separate trade negotiations with Japan last week. While President Trump has stated that more than 90 countries have reached out to negotiate new agreements, South Korea and Japan are among the eight nations in active discussions as of this report.
According to a report from Reuters ahead of the talks, South Korea is seeking to increase cooperation with the United States on shipbuilding and energy. The South Korean government is also open to increased shared defense costs as the nation seeks to have the looming 25 percent reciprocal tariffs lowered.
Tom Ramage, an economic policy analyst at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), predicted that talks may be extended beyond the 90-day holding period set by President Trump on April 9. The president announced that reciprocal tariffs on all nations with the exception of China would be paused for 90 days in order to grant more time for trade negotiations.
Acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo discussed shipbuilding, energy purchases, an Alaskan gas project and increased defense cost-sharing during an April 8 phone call with President Trump.”The government will do its best to find a ‘win-win’ between the two countries, with focus on three areas of trade balance, shipbuilding and LNG, under the principle that the national interest is the foremost priority,” Han said ahead of Thursday’s talks.
Shipbuilding agreements are likely to make up a significant component of any new trade deal. South Korea is the world’s second-largest shipbuilder after China, while President Trump has been calling for increased cooperation in the sector since beginning his second term.
Seoul has been more cautious about participating in the Alaskan gas project due to questions over its profitability. The nation’s auto industry is particularly vulnerable to tariffs, however, as 49 percent of South Korean auto exports go to the United States.
Trump has remained firm on his commitment to 25 percent tariffs on auto imports, which has prompted South Korea to enact emergency measures to assist major exporting companies such as Hyundai Motor and Kia.
On the topic of cost-sharing for the 28,000 American troops stationed in South Korea, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said Wednesday that Seoul is “prepared” to discuss the issue during the ongoing talks. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul told lawmakers that the issue should be dealt with separately, however.
The talks come as South Korea is embroiled in its worst political crisis in decades. A snap election is currently scheduled for June 3 after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached after attempting to declare martial law this past December.
