Adjusting the US' tariffs on imported goods from South Korea is "a top-priority goal" in Seoul's upcoming deals with Washington, the prime minister's office said Wednesday, hours after acting President Han Duck-soo's phone call with US President Donald Trump.
A government official said Wednesday that Seoul will work to lower the US tariffs expected to take a toll on South Korea's export-driven economy. A 25 percent tariff on most of South Korea's imported goods to the US went into effect at 1:01 p.m. Wednesday in Seoul.
"Adjusting the tariff will likely be the top-priority goal," said Bang Ki-sun, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination consisting of the Prime Minister's Office and his secretariat, in his briefing about the phone call between Han and Trump on Tuesday.
"As you are aware, the government's top priority is to address trade risks," Bang added. "We are prioritizing our work (to reduce these risks) while paying attention to how the international order will be reorganized. ... We will do our best in the trade negotations not to take measures that are to our disadvantage."
The remarks came after a 28-minute phone conversation between Han and Trump that wrapped up at around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday Seoul time, in the first talks between leaders of the two countries since Trump's return to the White House on Jan. 20. Han has assumed the role of former acting president temporarily to stand in for Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office Friday for his Dec. 3 self-coup attempt.
Bang highlighted Han's suggestion of "mid- to long-term efforts to improve (bilateral trade) balance" through bilateral cooperation in a US liquefied natural gas project and shipbuilding.
Trump has courted South Korean firms regarding a stalled $44 billion LNG pipeline project in Alaska. The US president has also expressed his intention to outsource military ship construction and repairs to South Korean shipyards.
Bang, however, declined to disclose Han’s specific comments addressing the US trade deficit or to provide even a rough estimate of South Korea’s potential investment in the LNG project discussed during Han's call with Trump. He had also refrained from saying whether Seoul intended to ask Washington to postpone the planned 25 percent tariffs on South Korean goods, as of Wednesday morning.
The phone call took place while a delegation of South Korean officials led by Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo was en route to Washington for trade talks with their US counterparts, with Trump having said he is seeking "tailored" trade deals with countries subject to his imposition of high tariffs for goods exported to the US.
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday after the Han-Trump phone talks that Trump "obviously prioritizes two of our closest allies and trading partners, Japan and Korea," adding there are a "heck of a lot of concessions on the table," without elaborating. Hassett added that the US is handling a "massive flow" of calls from US trade partners.
Hassett's comments were in line with Trump's post on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday after his talks with Han that he "had a great call." He added the talks revolved around South Korea's "tremendous" trade surplus with the US, tariffs in bilateral trade, South Korea's shipbuilding and the potential large-scale purchase of US liquefied natural gas and defense costs-sharing regarding US Forces Korea, among other topics.
Bang expressed optimism over possible negotiations.
"Trump was open to negotiations and it's not just words (that Trump was offering) from (Han's) standpoint," he said.
Bang also hailed Trump's remarks on Truth Social on Tuesday that referred to the US' trade deal with South Korea as "ONE STOP SHOPPING," which Trump described as "a beautiful and efficient process."
"When we talk about 'one-stop,' it is something that streamlines the process for a package deal," Bang said. "I perceived Trump as being very open to negotiations."
Bang said Han did not explicitly express regret about the Trump administration's 25 percent "reciprocal" tariffs levied on almost all South Korean goods during the phone talks. Han in an earlier interview with CNN on Tuesday described the US tariffs as “a pity.”
Regarding Han's remarks during the interview that South Korea is unlikely to band together with other countries like Japan or China to fight Trump's tariffs, Bang said the acting president did not mean to indicate a refusal to cooperate with Seoul's East Asian neighbors, adding that Korea would be open to working with them on the upcoming LNG project in the US.
Meanwhile, Tuesday's talks between Han and Trump not only focused on trade between the two countries, and cooperation in energy and security, but also on ways to counter geopolitical threats in East Asia posed by North Korea's nuclear provocations, according to Bang.
Han and Trump reached "common ground over the complete denuclearization" of North Korea, Bang said.
Tariff negotiations between Seoul and Washington are expected to advance if US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits South Korea next month. However, in response to reports that Rubio is considering a stop in Seoul as part of his upcoming Asia tour, a government official in Seoul said on condition of anonymity that the mutual visits of the two countries' foreign affairs ministers will be coordinated "at an appropriate time," without elaborating on the timeframe.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
