SEOUL, October 12 (AJP) - South Korea and the U.S. will hold ministerial-level talks later this week amid an impasse in tariff-related negotiations between the two countries.
Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol is scheduled to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s annual gathering in Washington, D.C., which are set to take place from Monday through Oct. 18, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Sunday.
The exact date of their meeting has yet to be decided, but the two countries are expected to work together to iron out differences amid a deadlock over the details of South Korean companies' US$350 billion investment plans in the U.S., agreed upon in late July as part of a broader trade deal to lower reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent.
U.S. President Donald Trump late last month demanded that South Korea fulfill its massive investment pledge to Washington in full and "upfront," but South Korea has expressed concerns about potential market instability here, further stalling the two allies' trade negotiations, as the two sides remain unable to formalize a memorandum of understanding.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also earlier warned that a lump-sum cash payment without protective measures such as currency swap deals could lead to a repeat of the 1997 Asian financial meltdown.
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