SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s trade minister said on Tuesday that the government has been considering packages of measures to increase U.S. imports, as he headed to Washington to negotiate over U.S. tariffs.
Minister Cheong In-kyo said it was good news ahead of his visit that U.S. President Donald Trump said the door was open for talks over tariffs with nations other than China.
“It is difficult to reduce exports, so shouldn’t we then increase (U.S.) imports? In that regard, we have been reviewing many different packages to resolve the trade balance problem,” Cheong said, before flying to Washington.
Cheong noted that the government had been internally discussing increasing LNG imports from the United States.
The South Korean minister is due to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the ministry has said.
Top South Korean officials have called for talks with Washington to shield the export-reliant economy from the impact of U.S. tariffs.
Cheong said he will dispute with U.S. officials Washington’s calculation of a “high tariff” on South Korea, which he called “problematic” given the two countries’ existing free trade pact.
Trump announced a 25% reciprocal tariff rate for South Korea, and a 46% duty for Vietnam, where major South Korean corporations like Samsung and LG manufacture products.
Amid an expanding tariff war, those tariffs will deal a “huge blow” to South Korean exporters with production bases in Vietnam and elsewhere, Finance minister Choi Sang-mok said on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park, Joyce Lee and Cynthia Kim; Editing by Ed Davies)
