SEOUL - South Korea unveiled a 12 trillion won ($8.4 billion) supplementary budget plan to shore up the country’s export-reliant economy threatened by Donald Trump’s tariffs as officials prepare to head to the US to negotiate a lower duty.

The amount is up from an originally planned 10 trillion won, with a third of the total earmarked for dealing with trade risks and boosting the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Tuesday. 

“Timing is the most important for this extra budget,” Choi said at a meeting with top economic policymakers. “I earnestly request the parliament’s bipartisan cooperation and handling of this extra budget plan to pass it as quickly as possible.” 

ALSO READ: South Korea to draft $6.8b extra budget for wildfire, tariff threats

A delay in coming up with extra budget has been a concern for the financial markets, and the central bank governor had also urged the government to provide additional stimulus to an economy hit with slowing exports and a political crisis.

But the bond market was not impressed with the additional funding, with the 10-year Korea government bond yield down about 3 basis points, in line with the US Treasury yield movement overnight.

It’s not immediately clear if the rival parties will manage to come to an agreement on the stimulus package as they prepare for a June 3 election that will determine the nation’s next president.

The announcement comes as South Korea prepares to send negotiators to the US to seek reduction of the 25 percent duty imposed by the Trump administration, among the highest rates on a US security ally before it was temporarily lowered to the 10 percent baseline rate for 90 days.  

READ MORE: South Korea trade minister says considering measures to boost US imports

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said talks with South Korea will take place next week and trade negotiations with key partners are “moving quickly.” “Usually, the first person who makes the deal gets the best deal,” the secretary said in an interview Monday with Bloomberg Television. 

South Korea and Japan, key US allies in Asia, are among the first nations to sit down with their US counterparts for tariff negotiations, which may set the tone for others around the world that are seeking a reprieve from Trump’s sweeping tariff campaign.

A top South Korean trade official said earlier this month the government is reviewing multiple packages to present to the Trump administration as it seeks to reduce its trade surplus with the US. After his first phone call with acting President Han Duck-soo last week, Trump said they discussed the US trade deficit, shipbuilding cooperation, the Alaska pipeline project and defense cost sharing.  

ALSO READ: South Korea's acting president calls for talks with US over tariffs

South Korea is one of the nations most vulnerable to protectionist policies as its economy relies heavily on earnings from abroad. South Korea’s trade surplus with the US jumped about 25 percent in 2024 from the previous year to about $55.7 billion, becoming an eyesore for Trump.

Bessent said that there may not be an actual trade “document” by the end of the 90-day pause period, but there may be an “agreement in principle” that allows the US and the partner nations to move forward.