"The U.S. side puts forward proposals that make you say, 'Does this make sense?' From their perspective, some of our proposals are unreasonable too. These kinds of proposals are being traded toughly back and forth."
Kim Jeong-gwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, who recently returned from New York after follow-up consultations on trade talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, explained the state of negotiations this way at a briefing with the ministry press corps held in Sejong on the 16th. His remarks suggest that the two sides have not narrowed their differences in the follow-up consultations that have taken place since the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations were concluded on Jul. 30.
The Minister said, "If that side is unreasonable, we respond unreasonably; if that side is tough, we respond toughly — this process is repeating," adding, "Many things are still fluid."
Regarding the U.S.-Japan agreement, the Minister said, "No matter how wealthy Japan is, if it were a deal where the United States takes the entire $550 billion, it would not have done so," adding, "It appears they found a point of contact with their national interest within the framework of a nonbinding MOU (memorandum of understanding)."
He explained, "Japan's national interest is to secure a more advantageous position than any other country on auto tariffs and overall item tariffs," adding, "If you look closely at the U.S.-Japan agreement, it can be broken at any time if it disadvantages Japan or does not conform to domestic law."
On the recent detention of Korean workers in the United States, the Minister said, "Secretary Lutnick used the expression 'FIX.' It means they will tear it down and fix it," adding, "It was an issue that embarrassed Lutnick personally, and the Trump administration also found it awkward that such an issue arose while it was trying to attract a lot of foreign investment and investment by corporations." He continued, "Not only Secretary Lutnick but also the Deputy Minister at the State Department expressed regret," adding, "It is an issue favorable to us in the negotiations."
Asked about the possibility that the trade talks could fall through, the Minister said, "Personally, even if the 15% tariff were raised by 10 percentage points to 25%, I think it would be little compared with the $350 billion," adding, "There are times when I think we could just give that money ($350 billion) to corporations in the form of tariff subsidies. During President Trump's term, we should go through a 'march of hardship' and proceed like this (hardline)."
Even so, he said, "I am thinking about what kind of Republic of Korea we should pass on to the coming generation," adding, "A Korea in the world, a peaceful Korea without security anxieties, I hope Hallyu culture and our corporations can range freely across the globe. The tariff negotiations are an issue related to setting the relationship with the United States, and I think it will be a very important decision that determines Korea's future."
He said, "The Trump administration now is not the United States we knew 10 to 20 years ago. We are dealing with an America that says, 'If you don't listen, you are not on our side,'" adding, "As in Chapter 23 of Moderation from the movie 'The Fatal Encounter' — 'If you devote yourself even to small things, you can change the world' — I think if we devote ourselves even to one small thing, the negotiations might improve."