South Korea urges Trump administration to keep trade talks ‘calm and orderly’

South Korea told the Trump administration on Thursday that it wants upcoming trade talks to stay calm and not spiral into chaos.

During the “2+2” meetings held in Washington, D.C., South Korea’s Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Dukgeun met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. They’re pushing hard for a deal by July 8, the day Trump’s 90-day tariff suspension expires.

Choi told reporters after the meeting that the discussions would focus on four key areas: tariff and non-tariff measures, economic security, investment cooperation, and monetary policies.

He said South Korea wants mutual benefits, not a one-sided deal, and warned about the impact if tariffs come crashing down. “South Korea is a reliable partner,” Choi said. The country wants to be seen as stable, useful, and not looking to start a fight over trade.

South Korea asks for exemptions and plans tied to US shipbuilding

Meanwhile, Ahn laid out his proposals during the same Thursday meeting, asking the US to work with Korea on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding industry, something both countries could gain from.

Ahn also pushed for more balanced trade, tougher energy security for Korea, and item-specific exemptions from the incoming tariffs. The Finance Ministry’s readout confirmed those details, and said both sides agreed to keep talking, with more meetings on the way.

Right now, Korea isn’t totally safe from Trump’s tariffs. The country still faces a 25% tax on steel and aluminum exports to the US, plus another 25% tariff hanging over Korean automobile imports, which is a major problem for companies like Hyundai and Kia.

Both brands are in the top eight car sellers in the US, based on data from Carpro. Korea is also the fourth biggest exporter of steel to the US in 2024, according to the International Trade Administration.

Trump’s administration hasn’t removed those specific tariffs. Instead, it just paused the damage until July 8, giving countries like Korea one last shot to avoid more economic hits.

Meanwhile, a Thursday report by ANZ said Korea might be able to secure a deal, but its internal politics could stretch the timeline.

“While South Korea has good odds of negotiating a trade deal with the US, its electoral calendar may extend the timeline for a comprehensive agreement,” the note said. 

Korea heads to the polls on June 3 to elect a new president, after Yoon Suk Yeol got kicked out by the Constitutional Court on April 4 for a failed attempt at martial law.

The new president’s policies could shift how the next rounds of talks go. It all depends on who wins and what they prioritize in terms of foreign trade and US relations. But Korea doesn’t have the luxury to stall. The numbers aren’t looking good at home.

The economy shrunk 0.1% year over year in the first quarter of 2025, the first time that’s happened since the end of 2020. Analysts expected growth of 0.1%, based on polling by Reuters, but got contraction instead.

The Bank of Korea blamed the fall on the construction sector, which collapsed by 12.4% compared to the same time last year. On a quarterly basis, the economy dropped 0.2%, swinging down from the 0.1% increase at the end of 2024.

On April 17, the Bank of Korea left interest rates untouched at 2.75%, but warned that the country’s GDP growth for 2025 would likely fall below the previous 1.5% forecast set in February. The central bank said consumer demand is falling and exports are weakening due to long-term political uncertainty and bad trade conditions.

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