South Korea's top trade envoy Yoo Han-koo left for the United States on Monday for ongoing tariff talks, Seoul's trade ministry said. The talks are aimed at overcoming differences over finalizing a trade deal agreed in July, Reuters reported, quoted by News.bg.
The main obstacles are related to a proposed $350 billion investment fund and its potential implications for the currency market. Presidential adviser Kim Yong-beom warned last week that the talks were "at an impasse" because of the risks to foreign exchange reserves if the package is implemented in its current form.
The Finance Ministry said on Sunday that various mechanisms to limit the impact on the domestic foreign exchange market are being discussed, but declined to specify whether a currency swap line with the United States is included.
“We are working hard to achieve a result that is reasonable and in line with our national interests,“ Yoo Han-ku told reporters at the airport, stressing that South Korea has no intention of further opening its agricultural market.
The tension is also deepening by the lack of progress during Industry Minister Kim Jun-kwan's recent visit to Washington, where he held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
President Lee Jae-myeon has said he will not sign a deal with the United States if it threatens national interests: “If it doesn't benefit us, there's no point in doing it. we sign.“
The talks are taking place against the backdrop of tense bilateral relations following the immigration raid by US authorities at a Hyundai Motor battery plant in Georgia, where hundreds of Korean workers were arrested - a case that caused shock in South Korea.
US President Donald Trump, in a post on the social network Truth Social, assured that he wants foreign companies to bring their experts to the US to train American workers, and that he has no intention of hindering foreign investment.