Korea-US 2+2 trade consultations held... Korea, Focused demand for mutual tariff abolition

2+2 Trade consultations conducted by Korea-US (Source: Ministry of Strategy and Finance)

The two countries, Korea and the United States, held '2+2 Trade Consultations' on the 24th (local time) in Washington DC to seek solutions to the recent large-scale tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. From the Korean side, Vice Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and An Deok-geun, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, participated, while from the US side, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent and Trade Representative Jamison Greer attended. The ministers of both countries continued negotiations for about an hour, and the Korean government is expected to officially announce the results of the meeting soon.

This consultation had a strong nature of pre-coordination in response to the tariffs imposed across major items such as steel, aluminum, and automobiles by President Trump since last month, and the recently deferred reciprocal tariff measures. Particularly, Korea aimed to completely remove or reduce the deferred 25% reciprocal tariff as the main goal of the negotiations.

The Korean side is known to have put various conditions on the table to meet the US demand for reducing the trade deficit against Korea, including expanding imports of US LNG, increasing cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, and resolving some non-tariff barriers. Analysis suggests that the concept proposed by President Trump of 'one-stop shopping negotiation', which is to integrate the discussion of tariffs, defense cost sharing, and energy imports, also indirectly influenced the consultations.

However, the talks remained at the level of an exploratory phase, with evaluations indicating that they ended in confirming each other's positions and agendas rather than achieving concrete results. Whether the US attempted to link the defense cost sharing issue with tariffs is still unclear, but Secretary Besent hinted in a recent lecture by stating, "Economic relations should reflect the security partnership."

The government plans to continue follow-up negotiations based on this consultation, but it will adjust the speed of negotiations so that the new government, which will be inaugurated after the Korean presidential election on June 3, can make full-scale decisions. The possibility of a direct meeting with President Trump is still uncertain but is noted as a card that could be a watershed in future discussions.