Latest news with #Koo Yun-cheol
Malay Mail
12 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
South Korea offers shipbuilding tie-up as clock ticks on US tariff deadline
SEOUL, July 29 — South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Tuesday he would seek a mutually beneficial trade deal when he meets US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for talks this week, just days before an August 1 deadline expires to avoid punishing tariffs. Speaking at the airport before departing for Washington, Koo said he would propose at Thursday's meeting a 'programme' South Korea had prepared and consult on areas where they could cooperate in the mid-to-long term, such as shipbuilding. South Korea's Hanwha Group, parent of shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, had submitted a major investment plan to government officials, according to two people familiar with the matter. The plan included expanding its recently acquired Philly Shipyard in the state of Pennsylvania and involved Hanwha Group and some of its affiliates, said the sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Hanwha Group's Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan also flew to Washington to support trade negotiations, local media reported. Seoul officials are scrambling in an all-out push to clinch a trade deal ahead of the August 1 deadline to remove or reduce tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump against the country's key industrial exports to the United States. Koo's plan to travel to Washington last week for talks with Bessent was postponed due to the US treasury chief's scheduling conflict. 'Treasury Secretary Bessent holds the important position of overseeing trade negotiations in the Trump administration,' Koo said in brief remarks to reporters. 'We will make the best effort to derive an agreement based on our national interest that would allow South Korea and the United States to co-exist,' he said. Koo said he would be joining Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo who have been holding talks in Washington with US officials including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for an 'all-out response.' Lutnick said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that South Korean officials had flown to Scotland to meet with him. 'Think of how much they really, really want to get a deal done,' he said. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will also visit Washington this week for a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, following a visit to Japan on Tuesday to meet his counterpart. — Reuters
Reuters
19 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
South Korea Finance Minister Koo to target mutually beneficial US trade deal
SEOUL, July 29 (Reuters) - South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Tuesday he would try to derive a mutually beneficial trade agreement with the United States, in comments ahead of his departure to Washington to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Seoul officials are scrambling in an all-out push to clinch a trade deal ahead of an August 1 deadline to avert punishing tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump against the country's key industrial exports to the United States. Koo's plan to travel to Washington last week for talks with Bessent was postponed due to the U.S. treasury chief's scheduling conflict. "Treasury Secretary Bessent holds the important position of overseeing trade negotiations in the Trump administration," Koo said in brief remarks to reporters. "We will make the best effort to derive an agreement based on our national interest that would allow South Korea and the United States to co-exist," he said. Koo said he would be joining Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo who have been holding talks with U.S. officials including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for an "all-out response."
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
South Korea sends top officials to US in final push to avert 25pc tariff threat as Aug 1 deadline approaches
SEOUL, July 26 — South Korea's deputy prime minister will meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week, ahead of Washington's deadline to reach a trade deal, Seoul's presidential office said today. US President Donald Trump's administration has threatened South Korea with a 25 per cent tariff if a trade deal is not reached by August 1. 'Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun are scheduled to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio next week,' the presidential office said in a statement. The statement came during a meeting at the presidential office where Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan reported on the outcome of his talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday. 'The government has pledged to devote its full efforts to concluding trade negotiations with Washington before the August 1 deadline,' the statement said. The presidential office added that Seoul confirmed Washington's 'strong interest in the shipbuilding sector' and agreed to work towards mutual cooperation in the industry. The announcement of the meeting comes after last week's scheduled talks were cancelled due to Bessent's 'urgent schedule'. South Korea's shipbuilding industry has become a useful bargaining chip for the country as Trump has shown significant interest in the sector. South Korea ranks as the world's second-largest shipbuilding nation, trailing only behind China. Amid rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the United States is turning to overseas shipyards to strengthen its Asia-Pacific operations, casting South Korea as a key defence partner. In 2024, Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea's largest shipbuilders, became the first non-US company authorised to conduct dry-dock maintenance on a US Navy vessel. — AFP
CNA
6 days ago
- Business
- CNA
US-South Korea trade talks postponed over Bessent schedule as tariff deadline looms
SEOUL: Talks between top South Korean and US officials to negotiate over United States President Donald Trump's tariffs have been postponed due to a scheduling conflict for US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, South Korea's finance ministry said on Thursday (Jul 24). The two sides will reschedule the meeting between Bessent and South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, as well as the top trade envoys of both countries, as soon as possible, the ministry said. Koo was set to board a flight for Washington on Thursday to attend the meeting on Friday in the hope of hammering out a deal that would spare Asia's fourth-largest economy from Trump's punishing 25 per cent tariffs set to take effect on Aug 1. The sudden announcement by the finance ministry an hour before Koo's departure cast fresh doubts about whether Seoul would be able to pull off an agreement to avert US import duties that could hit some of its major exporting industries. The benchmark Kospi stock index trimmed early gains to trade up 0.7 per cent as of 1.34am GMT (9.34am, Singapore time), as auto and auto parts makers fell on news of the postponed talks, with Hyundai Motor dropping as much as 1.8 per cent. Washington gave no further details for postponing Friday's meeting, the finance ministry said, though US officials are embroiled in a flurry of different negotiations. Bessent was set to meet China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in Sweden for a new round of trade talks ahead of the Aug 12 deadline set for Beijing. Washington is also moving towards a deal with the European Union. Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, who have travelled to Washington this week, have been meeting with US officials as scheduled, the South Korean government said. Yeo will hold a meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the industry ministry said. Pressure on South Korea heightened this week after Japan clinched a deal with the US, which Trump said would see Tokyo allowing greater market access for American products including autos and some agricultural products. The two major Asian security allies of the US compete in areas such as autos and steel, and Japan's deal was seen by investors as a benchmark for the type of agreement Seoul should try to squeeze out in negotiations, analysts have said. The involvement of a range of ministerial-level officials from Seoul in broad discussions with US officials in recent days suggested the two sides were at work on a trade package that could potentially involve a range of sectors, including South Korea's sensitive farm markets. South Korean officials have said access to US markets is key to industrial cooperation between the allies that would help rebuild American manufacturing industries. Finance ministry officials in Seoul declined to comment on media reports that Washington is asking South Korea to set up a large-scale investment fund in the US to support the reconstruction of its manufacturing industry.
