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Korean officials to travel to U.S. for crucial trade, tariff discussions

Published: 16 Apr. 2025, 19:21 Updated: 17 Apr. 2025, 15:49

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok responds to lawmakers' questions at the National Assembly on April 16. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Korea’s top finance and trade officials are expected to visit the United States next week for high-level discussions on tariffs and trade policy.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his upcoming visit. This would mark the first in-person meeting between the two countries’ finance chiefs since the launch of the Trump administration.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun is also arranging a trip to the U.S. to engage in similar talks.

“The U.S. Treasury has proposed a meeting with Secretary Bessent on trade issues during Minister Choi’s visit next week,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement. The announcement follows Washington’s 90-day suspension of its global tariff rollout, after which it plans to initiate country-by-country negotiations.

“Details regarding participants and the exact schedule are still being coordinated,” the Finance Ministry added.

Choi is scheduled to travel to the U.S. beginning Tuesday to attend the G20 finance ministers’ meeting. During the visit, he is expected to meet with Bessent. Trade Minister Ahn, if his schedule allows, may also travel to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to negotiate over tariff issues. There is also growing speculation that both Korean ministers may hold a joint “2+2” format meeting with their U.S. counterparts instead of conducting separate talks.

Following a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Acting President Han Duck-soo, during which Trump emphasized a “one-stop shopping” approach covering tariffs, industry policy and security, the Korean government believes a coordinated response to a possible “package deal” is necessary.

According to government officials, Korea plans to center its negotiation strategy on several key proposals — easing its trade surplus with the U.S., investing in Alaskan liquefied natural gas (LNG) and strengthening cooperation in the shipbuilding sector.

One issue the Korean government says it will not include in the negotiations is U.S. pressure to increase its defense costs, which has initially been brought up by Trump.

“We’re aware the U.S. has an interest regarding the defense spending, but that issue is not part of our current agenda,” Choi recently told lawmakers.

Experts in Korea have warned against rushing into an agreement.

“There is concern that President Trump may aggressively push for a deal with allies like Korea and then apply the same terms to other countries,” said Park Sung-hoon, professor emeritus at Korea University’s Graduate School of International Studies.

Apart from the U.S. negotiations, the Korean government is preparing a supplementary budget of over 12 trillion won ($8.45 billion) to support local industries and companies expected to be affected by the trade fallout. The Prime Minister’s Office announced Wednesday that a special Cabinet meeting will be held on Friday to review the spending plan, which will include more than 4 trillion won for strengthening trade and artificial intelligence competitiveness.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY IM SOUNG-BIN [[email protected]]