South Korea officials, business leaders join last-ditch push for US trade deal
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South Korean officials were told they need to “bring it all” when they make their final offer.
PHOTO: EPA
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SEOUL – Three South Korean Cabinet-level officials met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington for trade talks, Seoul said on July 30, as top business leaders were also reported to be flying in to help lobby for a deal on US tariffs.
South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol joined Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, who have been in Washington since last week, for two hours of talks with Mr Lutnick, a Finance Ministry spokesperson said in Seoul.
The spokesperson did not offer details of the discussions. US President Donald Trump has set an Aug 1 deadline
The latest meeting came as The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Lutnick had urged the South Korean team to bring their best and final offer to the table during a meeting he had with Mr Kim and Mr Yeo in Scotland.
Mr Lutnick told the South Korean officials they need to “bring it all” when they make their final offer to Mr Trump, the report said.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi stock index rose 0.7 per cent on July 30 to hit a near four-year high, as the flurry of US visits by government and company officials raised optimism around the country’s trade negotiations.
Mr Koo, who arrived in Washington on July 29, has said he hopes to convince the United States that the package of trade and related offers of industrial cooperation, including in shipbuilding, is to the allies’ mutual benefit.
He also plans to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during the visit.
The heads of some of South Korea’s largest global companies were converging on Washington to lend support to government negotiators, media reports said.
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun was reported to be departing for Washington on July 30.
Samsung Electronics chairman Jay Y. Lee and the vice-chairman of the Hanwha Group, Mr Kim Dong-kwan, whose affiliate Hanwha Ocean has unveiled a major investment plan in the US, were also in Washington, DC.
Hyundai Motor, which along with its affiliate Kia Corp is the world’s third-largest automaker, will face a significant impact in the absence of a waiver or reduction in a 25 per cent import duty on cars, given that the US is a major export destination.
South Korean officials were also discussing potential cooperation in chips, batteries and biotechnology under a package proposal, South Korea’s chief presidential policy secretary Kim Yong-beom said.
Pressure has been mounting on South Korea since Japan clinched a deal
This was followed by a US-European Union trade deal at the weekend
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will also travel to Washington this week to assist with the tariff negotiations. REUTERS
