Minister for Trade Yeo Hankoo to Attend ASEAN; Spotlight on Meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Greer

High U.S. Tariffs Put Broad Pressure on Korean Industry
Seeking a Breakthrough at the Kuala Lumpur Meeting

Yonhap News

As Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations have reached a stalemate, attention is focused on whether Yeo Hankoo, Minister for Trade, will meet with Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting. With the shock of high U.S. tariffs putting pressure on the entire Korean industry, there is growing interest in whether the government can find a breakthrough on site.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on September 23, Minister Yeo will attend the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM), which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from September 24 to 25. During the meeting, Minister Yeo plans to carry out both multilateral and bilateral schedules with ministers from key ASEAN countries, as well as hold individual meetings with representatives from the United States, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

In particular, if a separate meeting with Greer, who is attending as the U.S. representative, is arranged, it is expected to serve as a diplomatic stage outside of Korea and the United States to directly address the tariff issue. The second Trump administration, upon inauguration, shifted to a reciprocity-based trade system by imposing a baseline 15% tariff on all trading partners and additional tariffs of 25% to 50% on countries with large trade deficits with the U.S. Korea’s major export products-automobiles, steel, semiconductors, and batteries-have been hit hard, increasing the burden across the industry. The United States is demanding that Korea participate in U.S. domestic investments totaling 350 billion dollars as a condition for lowering the tariff rate from 25% to 15%.

Above all, there is a significant difference in views regarding the method of the 350 billion dollar investment. Korea has proposed to execute part of the investment as loans or guarantees for shipbuilding industry reconstruction projects, with the remainder invested in advanced industries. However, the United States is demanding a higher proportion of direct investment and stronger conditions for profit distribution. The Korean government maintains that large-scale investments are risky unless safety nets such as foreign exchange market stabilization mechanisms (currency swaps) are in place. President Lee Jaemyung has also publicly mentioned the possibility of a foreign exchange crisis.

Before departing, Minister Yeo stated, "I will convey the positions of Korean companies regarding tariff-affected items such as semiconductors and steel, and will negotiate in a mutually beneficial and national interest-centered manner," adding, "I will do my utmost to minimize the damage to companies."

The ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting itself is also an important opportunity for the Korean government. This meeting brings together ministers from the 10 ASEAN countries and major partner countries such as Korea, China, and Japan to coordinate economic agendas ahead of the ASEAN Summit scheduled for October. Korea will attend the Korea-ASEAN, ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Ministers’ Meeting, and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministers’ Meeting to discuss regional cooperation measures such as digital transformation, supply chain stability, and climate change response.

During the meeting, key agenda items will include reviewing the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2025 Blueprint and establishing the strategic plan for 2026-2030. Korea has actively participated in regional economic cooperation projects and aims to establish itself as a leading country in new trade agendas such as digital transformation, supply chain diversification, and carbon neutrality. A government official said regarding the meeting, "We will use this as an opportunity to diversify export markets for Korean companies and to lead the establishment of new trade norms."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.