Seoul: The United States has urged South Korea to address non-tariff barrier issues during the recent round of working-level trade talks, according to a South Korean trade official. This request comes as South Korea seeks to negotiate a reduction or exemption of tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in last week's consultations, the U.S. pressed South Korea to tackle non-trade barrier issues highlighted in the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, published by the U.S. Trade Representative's office in March. The report identifies several of South Korea's non-tariff measures, including restrictions on American beef imports, defense trade policies, regulations on imported cars, and pharmaceutical pricing policies.
The second round of technical discussions between the two countries took place in Washington, following an agreement between South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during an APEC meeting in Jeju. The discussions focused on six key areas: balanced trade, non-tariff measures, economic security, digital trade, country of origin issues, and commercial considerations, as reported by Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
South Korea is aiming for a full exemption or reduction of the Trump administration's 25 percent reciprocal tariffs, particularly on steel, automobiles, and other imports. They hope to finalize a package deal on tariffs and economic cooperation by July 8, when the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs expires.
Details of the U.S. requests remain undisclosed, but industry analysts speculate that issues such as beef imports and high tariffs on imported rice may have been raised. A senior trade official noted that while some requests could be resolved through regulatory adjustments, others concerning market access require adherence to trade treaty procedures.
President Trump has previously cited South Korea's rice tariffs as an example of foreign trade barriers, noting that the country imposes duties exceeding 500 percent on U.S. rice. While the baseline tariff is 513 percent, South Korea applies a mere 5 percent tariff on an annual import quota of 132,304 tons of U.S. rice.
The Korean delegation reportedly explained that addressing such issues would follow established procedures under trade treaty law, including parliamentary reporting. They also informed the USTR of South Korea's consideration of Google's high-precision map data transfer request and approval of U.S.-grown modified organism potatoes to mitigate non-tariff barriers.
In terms of commercial considerations, discussions included potential measures to reduce South Korea's trade surplus with the U.S., such as increasing Seoul's investment in the U.S. or purchasing more American goods.
The South Korean government intends to defer decisions on sensitive trade matters to the next administration, with the country's presidential election scheduled for next Tuesday.