South Korean Trade Officials in Washington; India Negotiations Hitting Snags
Major Asian trading partners may be diverging as countries try to avoid U.S. tariffs jumping from 10% to rates in the mid 20s.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
South Korea issued a readout noting that its deputy minister for international trade and investment will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer this week while its new Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo is meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seeking "mutually beneficial solutions."
Yeo also will try to convince lawmakers to keep green tax credits that South Korean businesses relied on to open factories. South Korea is a major player in electric vehicles, EV batteries and solar cells.
"Trade Minister Yeo stated that he will give full measure to gain mutually beneficial outcomes through in-depth consultations between the two countries. In view of the two sides’ close economic and industrial integration, the trade minister highlighted that he seeks to expand the friendly foothold in the U.S. for Korean businesses," the readout said.
According to India's Economic Times newspaper, Indian negotiators are less hopeful that mutually beneficial solutions are possible, since India wanted zero duty for textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather goods and auto parts in exchange for lowering its agriculture duties. India was told the best it could hope for was 10%, the same as all other countries. India also isn't interested in accepting genetically modified foods, the report said.
Although the president set July 9 as a deadline for negotiations, both he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have said that countries may get more time if they are negotiating in good faith.