U.S. Treasury: "U.S.-Korea Trade Talks in Final Stage"...Will a Deal Be Reached at APEC?

Secretary Besant Speaks to CNBC
"The devil is in the details, but we are working through them"
Kim Yongbeom and Kim Jeonggwan to Visit U.S. on October 16 for Talks with Lutnick

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant announced on October 15 (local time) that trade negotiations with South Korea have entered their final stage.

In an interview with CNBC that day, Secretary Besant stated, "We are at the stage of wrapping up negotiations with South Korea," adding, "The devil is in the details, but we are working through those details."

He revealed that officials from both South Korea and the United States will meet this week in Washington, D.C., on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) Annual Meetings. This signals upcoming negotiations with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yooncheol, who arrived in the U.S. that day.

With both countries accelerating talks ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju at the end of this month, attention is focused on whether the trade negotiations, which have been deadlocked for the past three months, can finally be concluded.

South Korea and the United States reached a broad trade agreement at the end of July, but have yet to finalize the deal due to unresolved differences over the details of the $350 billion U.S.-bound investment package promised by the South Korean government, including the structure of the investment package and profit distribution. As a result, South Korea is currently subject to a high 25% tariff on automobiles, which is less favorable than the 15% tariff applied to the European Union and Japan.

Kim Yongbeom, Chief Policy Officer at the Presidential Office, is scheduled to visit the U.S. on October 16 with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeonggwan, bringing a revised tariff negotiation proposal. They are set to meet their negotiation counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. On October 15, Kim stated, "Recently, the U.S. has shown a very meaningful response to our revised proposal and a new alternative has been presented," adding, "I see this as significant progress."

It has also been reported that major business leaders, including Lee Jayyong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chey Taewon, Chairman of SK Group; Chung Euisun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; and Koo Kwangmo, Chairman of LG Group, will visit the U.S. in succession to provide support for the tariff negotiations. Invited by Son Masayoshi, Chairman of Japan's SoftBank, the heads of these four major groups are expected to meet with former U.S. President Donald Trump for a golf round at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Trump resides.