The trade talks between the United States and South Korea are progressing smoothly. The South Korean side plans to facilitate tariff exemptions before July

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bassant said that the trade talks between the United States and South Korea were "very successful" and the two countries are seeking a solution before the U.S. plans to impose high tariffs. Several South Korean ministers pointed out that South Korea and the United States have reached a consensus to prepare a tariff agreement to promote tariff exemptions before July.

Reuters reported that Bessette told reporters at the White House on Thursday (April 24) : "We held a very successful bilateral meeting with South Korea today..." The progress speed may be faster than I expected. We will start technical consultations as early as next week.

He said, "The South Korean side is well-prepared and has demonstrated extremely high professionalism. Next, it remains to be seen whether they will implement it."

Besant did not disclose the details of the talks, only saying that the consultations were expected to cover shipbuilding, energy cooperation, and possible defense spending involved. The talks were held during the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Basent and members of Trump's trade team are also negotiating tariff arrangements with fiscal and trade officials from multiple countries.

Several South Korean ministers said on Friday (the 25th) that South Korea and the United States have reached a consensus to prepare a tariff agreement called the "July Plan", with the goal of promoting tariff exemptions by July 8.

South Korea was one of the first countries to initiate trade negotiations under the Trump administration. The United States recently imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff on South Korea. As the 90-day tariff buffer period granted by the US to South Korea is coming to an end, Bessent expects that the consultations will be extended and may even lead to some kind of renegotiation of the US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Trump has long criticized South Korea for having an excessive trade surplus with the United States. Data shows that South Korea's trade surplus with the United States reached a new high of 55.6 billion US dollars last year, an increase of 25% compared to 2023 and almost five times that of 2019.

The South Korean government said that this meeting was proposed by the US side and began after Trump's phone call with South Korea's acting president Han Duck-soo on April 8. The two were discussing issues such as shipbuilding, energy procurement, the Alaska gas project and defense spending at that time.

Han Duck-soo said before the talks on Thursday: "The government will, based on the principle of prioritizing national interests, strive to achieve a win-win situation in the three major fields of trade balance, shipbuilding and liquefied natural gas."