Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on the 10th that "U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick noted that 'if the Special Act on Investment in the United States is legislated in Korea, there is a path for the tariff to return to normal.'"
The Minister answered this way to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Young-seok during an economic policy interpellation session at the National Assembly, who asked, "If the Special Act on Investment in the United States passes the National Assembly in March, what is the basis for saying there will be no tariff increase?"
The Minister said, "After President Donald Trump on Jan. 27 mentioned a delay in legislation by the National Assembly (while saying he would raise the tariff to 25%), I met with my counterpart, Secretary Lutnick," adding, "I had a conversation with Secretary Lutnick along the lines of 'it would be good if legislation happens in Korea.'"
In response to the criticism that this "conflicts with a remark by Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that even if the law passes, a rollback of the tariff increase may not happen if negotiations on non-tariff barriers fail," the Minister said, "Of course there are various issues between Korea and the United States related to non-tariff barriers, but I believe those can be managed through that track."