Korea-US to Hold '2+2 Tariff Talks' on the 25th... All-out Effort Ahead of Mutual Tariff Deadline

[Financial News] Korea and the United States will hold a '2+2 meeting' on the 25th (local time) in Washington DC, USA, with high-ranking officials from the finance and trade sectors participating. The negotiations are taking place just a week before the August 1st deadline, when the US announced a 25% mutual tariff on Korea. This is the first high-level contact with the US since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung government, and it is expected to be a watershed in negotiations between the two countries.
 Gu Yoon-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, met with reporters right after the external economic ministers' meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul on the 22nd and said, "I and Yeo Han-gu, Head of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will hold a '2+2 meeting' with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and US Trade Representative (USTR) Representative Jamison Greer on the 25th."
 In this meeting, the Head of Trade Negotiations will take the place of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. Deputy Prime Minister Gu explained, "At the request of the US Treasury Secretary and USTR, the Head of Trade Negotiations, who is responsible for practical trade negotiations, will attend." It is structured for direct face-to-face meetings of practical finance and trade sector officials to coordinate sensitive issues, taking on the character of high-level practical negotiations.
 High-ranking government officials are also boarding flights to the US one after another. Head Yeo Han-gu was the first to depart on this day, and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan will head to the US on the 23rd, and Deputy Prime Minister Gu will head to the US on the 24th. Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun is also coordinating a schedule to visit Washington for a meeting with his counterpart.
 This external economic ministers' meeting is the first official meeting presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Gu Yoon-cheol since his inauguration. The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon, Head Yeo Han-gu, and ministerial-level officials, including vice ministers from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and Ministry of SMEs and Startups. 
In particular, this meeting was attended by major departments related to non-tariff barriers, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (beef and processed products regulation), the Ministry of Science and ICT (Google Maps import), and the Fair Trade Commission (online platform law), to discuss response plans. This indicates that improving non-tariff barriers is emerging as a key issue in this Korea-US negotiation.
 Previously, the two countries also held the '2+2 first trade consultation' in Washington DC on April 25th.
 At that time, former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and former Minister of Industry Ahn Deok-geun held talks with US Treasury Secretary Besant and USTR Representative Greer. Initially, they aimed to reach an agreement by July 8th, but they could not narrow their differences, and the US extended the negotiation deadline to August 1st.
 Currently, the US has stated its position that if an agreement is not reached, it will impose a 25% mutual tariff on Korea, consisting of a basic tariff of 10% and a country-specific differential tariff of 15%. However, the US has hinted at the possibility of further extension, leaving room for negotiation. 
 Treasury Secretary Besant recently said in an interview with local media, "I am more interested in reaching a high-quality agreement than in concluding negotiations by August 1st," and "I will not rush for results." This statement is interpreted as a strategy by the US to maintain pressure and induce concessions from Korea.
spring@fnnews.com Reporter Lee Bo-mi