Washington: South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol will hold tariff talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Thursday (U.S. time), his office said Wednesday, in what is likely to be the final round of talks before the deadline for negotiations ahead of planned steep duties.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the talks are scheduled to take place at 9:45 a.m. at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Seoul's finance ministry said in a message to media. This timing will align to 10:45 p.m. Thursday in Seoul. The upcoming discussions are anticipated to be the final round between Seoul and Washington before the 25 percent reciprocal tariffs, set by the Donald Trump administration, take effect on South Korean goods starting Aug. 1 as planned unless a deal is reached.
Top officials from Seoul are in the United States making efforts to strike an agreement to lower the tariff rate and minimize the impact on its export-reliant economy. Koo, along with Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, had a two-hour meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday to discuss the tariff measures.
In a social media post Wednesday, Trump stated that the tariff deadline will not be extended, referring to Aug. 1 as "A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA."