Minister Kim Jeong-gwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will visit Washington, D.C., in the United States from the 23rd to the 25th of this month to conduct negotiations.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Minister Kim will meet with key U.S. government officials, including Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Chairperson Doug Burgum of the National Energy Commission, during his visit to discuss progress on South Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations and strategies to strengthen cooperation in the industrial and energy sectors.
This visit to the U.S. marks Minister Kim's first trip to the country shortly after his inauguration. It comes at a time when the deadline for the U.S. tariff measures, announced on August 1, is approaching and is part of a comprehensive government response to high-level tariff negotiations.
Minister Kim plans to seek ways to advance tariff negotiations based on the "Manufacturing Renaissance Partnership" proposed by our side under the principles of maximizing national interests and mutual benefits, and to broadly discuss strengthening cooperation in strategic industries such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, and batteries, as well as in the energy sector.
Minister Kim said, "Given the significant ripple effect that the tariff negotiations could have on our economy, the government will thoroughly respond, taking into account the sensitivities of our entire industry."
He added, "We will approach the negotiations with the aim of maximizing national interests and will do everything possible to produce positive results that could upgrade cooperation in the industrial and energy sectors between South Korea and the United States."
Meanwhile, Minister Kim noted that they are "carefully reviewing" Japan's negotiations. Japan lowered its reciprocal tariff on the United States from 25% to 15% on the 22nd (local time) and agreed to reduce the automotive tariff from 25% to 15%.
President Donald Trump stated, "Japan will invest $550 billion in the United States and agreed to open the markets for automobiles, trucks, rice, and some agricultural products," adding that "the United States will impose a reciprocal tariff of 15% on Japan."