Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / Asia-Pacific

    Seoul plans levy talks with Washington

    By YANG HAN in Hong Kong | China Daily | Updated: 2025-04-17 09:35
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    People visit a self-driving vehicle displayed during the World Climate Industry Expo at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) in Busan, South Korea, May 25, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

    South Korea's finance minister will visit the United States next week in a bid to minimize the impact of Washington's tariffs on Asia's fourth-largest economy, though uncertainty remains.

    Choi Sang-mok, also deputy prime minister, is scheduled to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington during next week's G20 finance ministers' meeting and the annual International Monetary Fund gathering, Yonhap News Agency reported.

    The meeting was initiated at Bessent's suggestion, South Korea's finance ministry said.

    Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun is also expected to travel to the US as early as next week for tariff negotiations, Yonhap said.

    The scheduled talks come in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report that the administration of US President Donald Trump is planning to use tariff negotiations with some 70 countries to restrict their interactions with China, including curbs on goods transit and business operations.

    South Korea's economy is under increasing pressure as Washington's tariff war escalates. On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley projected the country's growth rate to slow down to 1 percent this year, citing tariff uncertainty.

    Although South Korea maintains near-zero tariffs on US goods under a bilateral free trade agreement, Washington has imposed an additional 25 percent "reciprocal tariff" on South Korean imports based on trade deficit.

    A 90-day suspension of the proposed tariff hikes on countries other than China has since been announced to allow time for negotiations.

    South Korea is the sixth-largest trading partner of the US. Their bilateral trade reached $197.1 billion last year, with the US recording a $66 billion trade deficit — a 29.2 percent increase from 2023, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

    Rise in investment

    However, a report published on Sunday by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade said South Korea's expanded exports to the US in recent years were driven by a rapid rise in South Korean corporate investment in the US, which led to increased exports of intermediate and capital goods.

    South Korea also faces challenges in industry-specific tariffs, such as a 25 percent duty on vehicles and levies targeting semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals.

    In response, the government has proposed an extra budget of 12 trillion won ($8.46 billion) to support key sectors.

    During a meeting with Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Wednesday, South Korean Acting President Han Duck-soo said Seoul is seeking a "win-win solution "with the US, according to his office.

    Han also spoke by phone with Trump last week, discussing South Korea's trade surplus, tariffs, shipbuilding, among other issues.

    The call drew criticism from the opposition Democratic Party. Former lawmaker Hong Sungkook said on Wednesday that Han should respond to the tariff issue carefully and leave the decision to the next administration.

    "Following soaring interest rates and a plummet in the stock market, an economic recession of the US has become a reality … there is no need to rush (for negotiations) at the moment," Hong said.

    In a Tuesday editorial, South Korea's Hankyoreh newspaper said Trump's "temperamental tariffs" are eroding trust in the US, given the lack of a rational basis for treating trade deficits as evidence of foreign "trade barriers".

    "The South Korean government should not attempt to pursue any reckless negotiations under the current irrational conditions," it said.

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    中文字幕人成乱码在线观看| 一本大道久久东京热无码AV | 丝袜无码一区二区三区| 精品人体无码一区二区三区| 国产成人无码区免费内射一片色欲| 久久中文字幕人妻丝袜| 精品无码日韩一区二区三区不卡| 亚洲精品人成无码中文毛片| 亚洲伊人成无码综合网| 99精品人妻无码专区在线视频区 | 中文字幕在线视频网| 中文字幕丰满伦子无码| 国产精品无码无卡在线播放| 亚洲国产成人精品无码区在线观看 | 中文字幕一区二区人妻| heyzo专区无码综合| 亚洲av无码片vr一区二区三区| 中文字幕无码不卡免费视频 | 精品中文高清欧美| 美丽姑娘免费观看在线观看中文版 | 中文字幕一区二区三区在线观看| 午夜亚洲av永久无码精品| 国产AV无码专区亚洲AV毛网站| 小13箩利洗澡无码视频网站| 中文字幕无码人妻AAA片| 亚洲日本中文字幕天堂网| 中文字幕在线免费看线人| 中文字幕日韩在线| 日本中文字幕在线2020| а天堂中文最新版在线| 精品久久久久久中文字幕 | 日韩国产中文字幕| 中文字幕av无码一区二区三区电影| 亚洲精品无码久久久| 亚洲AV无码AV男人的天堂不卡| 亚洲精品无码永久在线观看| 中文字幕人成高清视频| 熟妇人妻无码中文字幕| 久久99中文字幕久久| 最近的2019免费中文字幕| 精品无码一区二区三区电影|