South Korea: Finance Minister likely to hold tariff talks with US Treasury Secretary on July 31

Seoul, July 27 (IANS) Finance Minister of South Korea, Koo Yun-cheol is likely to meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this Thursday to reach a tariff deal just before the hefty reciprocal duties take effect on August 1, according to sources Sunday.

The negotiations, set for Thursday (US time), come as Seoul seeks to reach a trade deal with the United States to lower the 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and sectoral duties set by the Donald Trump administration on South Korean goods.

The meeting is likely to take place at the US Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington, DC, though the exact time and location of the meeting have yet to be confirmed, the sources said.

The presidential office earlier announced that Koo and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun are scheduled to meet with Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, respectively, next week, as it vowed to make an all-out effort in trade negotiations with Washington, Yonhap news agency reported.

Concerns have grown over whether the two sides will be able to make a breakthrough before the deadline following Washington's abrupt cancellation of high-level trade talks last week.

The announcement followed an emergency meeting earlier on July 26, which was co-chaired by Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, and National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac.

The meeting was convened to review the progress of ongoing talks and coordinate Seoul's response as the August 1 deadline for new US tariffs neared.

Key Cabinet members in attendance included Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol; Foreign Minister Cho Hyun; Yoon Chang-ryeol, chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination; and First Vice Industry Minister Moon Shin-hak. They were joined via video conference by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, who are currently leading negotiations in the United States.

According to the presidential office, the US showed a "high level of interest" in the shipbuilding sector, and the two countries agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the sector.

--IANS

int/bpd/dan