South Korean Industry Minister Flies to Washington to Ease US Tariff Pressure
GeopoliticsMacro
Kim Jong-kwan, South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, departed for Washington, D.C. again this morning to accelerate efforts to ease tariff pressure from the United States amid unresolved bilateral trade issues. The trip comes at a sensitive time for trade relations between the two countries, with South Korea under US pressure to speed up implementation of an investment agreement reached last year. The ministry expects the US government to announce the results of its investigation into alleged overproduction under Section 301 of US trade law by the end of this month. In July, the United States announced a new round of tariff increases on imports from 60 countries at rates of 10% to 12.5%, with South Korea facing a 12.5% tariff, the same as Japan and Switzerland. Meanwhile, the United States is also investigating excess production capacity in 16 countries, including South Korea. Kim said earlier that the two countries had reached a mutual agreement that any tariffs resulting from the Section 301 investigation would not exceed 15%, in line with the tariff agreement reached last year. Last year, South Korea exported 122.9 billion dollars to the United States and imported 73.4 billion dollars from the United States, making the United States South Korea's second-largest trading partner.
