Are Agricultural Products on the Table? Government Expands U.S. Tariff Negotiation Cards

[Financial News] As the government has officially embarked on the composition of a 'package deal' for U.S. tariff negotiations, it is considering a card to ease agricultural import barriers.
 On the 14th, at the Sejong Government Complex, Yeo Han-gu, head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, met with reporters and stated, "There has never been a negotiation where agriculture was not painful, but industrial competitiveness has been strengthened," and "Now is the time to make strategic decisions in the agricultural sector."
 He continued, "There are parts that must be protected, and there are parts that can be viewed flexibly in terms of system improvement, competitiveness enhancement, and consumer welfare," emphasizing, "It is important to specifically compose these into a package deal, and we will do our best."
 The agricultural quarantine procedure is one of the major non-tariff barriers in our country that the United States continuously points out through trade barrier reports.
 On this day, Director Yeo suggested a phased negotiation strategy to first reach a broad agreement before the U.S. reciprocal tariff imposition date of August 1, and then continue negotiations.
 He stated, "We do not intend to sacrifice practicality due to time," but added, "It is impossible to create a perfect agreement that includes all details in the remaining 20 days, but assuming a principle agreement, it is possible to continue negotiations with additional time."
 The government plans to create a specific negotiation plan through consultations with relevant ministries this week.
 Director Yeo said, "It is extremely important to negotiate by fully preparing measures we can take regarding non-tariff barriers through maximum consultation with relevant ministries, stakeholders, and the National Assembly," and "When we judge that we have prepared a plan that can reach the landing zone, we will go to the U.S. for negotiations."
 However, given the difficulty in predicting the situation, he also stated the need to assume both the best and worst-case scenarios.
 Director Yeo said, "The negotiation situation we face is very serious, and we must prepare for the worst," adding, "We will do our best for the best, but the U.S. stock market, global economic situation, inflation, and political variables at that time may affect."
 In particular, Director Yeo emphasized that the situation is different from the first term of Trump. He said, "Unlike the first term, the second term of Trump is pushing to structurally reorganize the global trade system by simultaneously negotiating with about 20 countries, so the negotiation structure of other countries is becoming a complex equation that affects each other," and "Even at moments when many countries thought they were close to an agreement, they are facing rollercoaster-like situations," he pointed out.
 In fact, the reciprocal tariffs between the European Union (EU) and Mexico, which were known to be close to an agreement last weekend, rose to 30% in that context. Director Yeo added, "It is a situation where we cannot let our guard down even after the negotiations are over."

aber@fnnews.com Park Ji-young Reporter