SEOUL, August 22 (AJP) - South Korea's top trade officials met with their U.S. counterparts in Washington on Thursday, just four days ahead of the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to fine-tune key trade issues, particularly those tied to last month's tariff agreement. Yeo returned to the U.S. less than a month after concluding a deal on July 30, narrowly beating the deadline set by Trump to avoid a 25 percent tariff hike.
While the two countries have agreed to reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent, Thursday’s talks focused on finalizing the technical details to be addressed during Monday’s summit at the White House.
After his July visit, Yeo told reporters, "further negotiations would continue," explaining that only the tariff rate had been agreed upon at that stage.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan is also scheduled to arrive in Washington on Friday. He is expected to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, along with other senior officials. According to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the early arrival of key trade and industry ministers is intended to “thoroughly prepare” for the upcoming summit on August 25.
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