I engraved in my heart while engaging in negotiations that 'intelligence is the key to success.' I set a strategy to try to make a deal with Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and traveled to New York and Scotland for discussions. I believe that the enthusiasm to create a deal beneficial to both countries resonated.
Yeo Han-koo, the head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, noted during a briefing with reporters on the 31st conducted via video conference, "Although there were several turning points in the negotiations, Scotland became an important turning point."
The Deputy Minister explained, "In the discussions in Scotland, progress was made regarding the structure of the fund," and added, "Recently, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Kuhn-chul Gu, visited the U.S. and focused his efforts on all-court pressing, which also became a significant turning point."
The Deputy Minister shared that the background of meeting President Donald Trump a day earlier than originally expected to finalize the negotiations was due to the busy schedule of U.S. negotiations since last Thursday, stating, "The U.S. concluded trade negotiations with the EU in Scotland, and U.S. Trade Representative and Scott Bessent, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, negotiated with China in Sweden. Negotiations with India fell through, and with multiple negotiations simultaneously taking place, it was unpredictable when any agreement would be reached." He emphasized that given the fluid nature of the negotiations, it is best to act when possible.
When asked, "Could the negotiations have been delayed further to lower the automobile tariff rate from 15% to 12.5%?", he replied, "When the automobile tariff rate for Japan was lowered to 15%, the Big Three in Detroit opposed it." He explained, "Afterward, it became difficult for other countries to accept 15%. It would have been better to receive 12.5%, but I thought it was not appropriate to prolong the negotiations by insisting on this."
In response to the question, "Will you continue to negotiate to lower the automobile tariff rate?", he stated, "Once the tariff rates for Japan, Korea, and the EU are balanced at 15%, it is not easy to break this balance," adding, "If one country among similar nations lowers its tariff, others will pressure for reductions as well." He also added, "We do not know what trade environments will be created in the future. If opportunities arise, we will strive to lower the rate by even 1%."
Regarding the background of not including the opening of agricultural and livestock markets in the final agreement, he explained, "We took a strong stance, declaring beef and rice as 'red lines.'" He also stated, "I showed a photo taken from above during the 2008 mad cow disease candlelight protests to Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, and Minister Lutnick. Recently, we monitored the backlash from the domestic agricultural and livestock industry in the U.S. This proved helpful."