On the 23rd, a day before the Korea-U.S. 2+2 trade consultation, the Korean delegation held a working meeting in Washington, D.C., confirming the goals of the consultation and conducting final checks.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Choi Sang-mok and Minister Ahn Duk-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy led the trade consultation delegation, which gathered at a location in Washington, D.C., at 2 p.m. for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. A delegation official noted, "We reaffirmed the goals of this consultation and discussed countermeasures regarding the U.S. response."
The government has set the goal of this trade consultation as "reciprocal tariff elimination." Among the tariffs by product, the reduction of tariffs on automobiles has been prioritized.
Minister Ahn Duk-geun met with reporters at Dulles Airport in the morning and said, "The aim of this consultation is fundamentally to eliminate the current imposition of reciprocal tariffs," adding, "We have plans to negotiate in a direction where we can continue to receive postponements regarding the reciprocal tariffs."
Minister Ahn also stated, "The 25% tariff imposed on automobiles is causing significant issues in trade with the U.S.," and added, "We plan to negotiate this issue as quickly as possible."
The delegation plans to leverage the recent large-scale investment plan announced by Hyundai Motor at the White House to facilitate discussions with the U.S. In this regard, Minister Ahn said, "The most important part of Korea-U.S. trade is automobiles," noting, "Hyundai Motor recently announced a large-scale investment plan. We will actively negotiate regarding that and seek ways to resolve issues smoothly."
The Korea-U.S. 2+2 trade consultation will take place on the 24th at 8 a.m. (9 p.m. on the 24th in Korea) at the Treasury in Washington, D.C. Our side will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Choi and Minister Ahn, while the U.S. side will be led by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Vance and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
In the afternoon of the 24th, a separate meeting between Minister Ahn and Representative Greer will also be conducted. An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained that this meeting aims to deeply discuss the positions of both sides based on the content addressed in the 2+2 trade consultation.