The tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States have reached a deadlock. The South Korean deputy prime minister will hold talks with the US Treasury Secretary to seek a breakthrough

As the negotiations between the United States and South Korea over tariffs and a large-scale investment plan in the US reach a deadlock, South Korea's Vice Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Strategy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul will travel to the United States on Wednesday (October 15) to hold bilateral talks with US Treasury Secretary John Betsunte.

Yonhap News Agency reported that since the United States and South Korea reached a preliminary framework at the end of July, Seoul has proposed an investment plan worth 350 billion US dollars to the United States in exchange for the US reducing the "reciprocal tariff" rate on South Korea from 25% to 15%. However, the two sides have yet to reach an agreement on key details such as the structure of the investment funds and the distribution of returns, and the final agreement has been delayed in signing.

This month, the South Korean side submitted an amendment to the investment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the US side and listed "unlimited currency swap" as a necessary condition for reaching an agreement.

Previously, Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-gwan had already communicated with US Commerce Secretary Lutnik in New York. After returning home, he said that the two sides had reached a consensus on the sensitivity of the foreign exchange market and were making efforts to narrow the differences.

It is understood that the bilateral finance ministers' meeting next week is regarded as an important opportunity, and the outside world is paying close attention to whether Koo Yoon-chul can take this opportunity to promote breakthroughs on currency swap and investment details. If the negotiations still fail to make substantive progress, South Korea and the United States also plan to continue their consultations at the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting and the Gyeongju Summit later this month.