South Korea, US to launch working-level talks on tariffs this week

The two-day "technical discussions" will begin on Wednesday (U.S. time) in Washington as a follow-up to last week's agreement to craft a package deal on the new U.S. tariffs and ways of bilateral economic and industrial cooperation before the 90-day pause on the tariff measures expires on July 8, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The upcoming discussions will be attended by officials from the ministry and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), reports Yonhap news agency.

"This round of technical consultations is intended to finalize the framework for discussions regarding U.S. tariff measures. We will actively seek exemptions from reciprocal tariffs, item-specific tariffs, such as those on automobiles and steel products, and any new levies that may be introduced in the future, in order to minimize damage to our businesses," senior ministry official Jang Sung-gil said.

During the first "two-plus-two" tariff talks held last Thursday, Seoul and Washington agreed to focus on four areas in crafting a deal: tariff and non-tariff measures, economic security, investment cooperation and currency policies.

The meeting in Washington had brought together South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun with their U.S. counterparts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer.

Earlier this month, Trump announced a minimum 10 percent "baseline" tariff on all imports to the U.S., along with "reciprocal" tariffs, including 25 percent duties for South Korea, that targeted some 60 countries.

Shortly after the announcement, however, Trump paused the implementation of the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, and began holding separate negotiations with each partner nation.

—IANS