South Korea’s top trade official said he’ll seek an exemption from US tariffs when he meets with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington this week.
“I plan to discuss how we can protect our companies as much as possible from the various tariff measures the US is talking about,” Ahn Duk-geun, minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, told reporters Wednesday before departing for the US. “I will strongly emphasize the need for our industries to work together with the US industrial ecosystem.”
During his stay through Friday, Ahn plans to meet with government officials and members of Congress in the latest effort by South Korea to soften the blow from Donald Trump’s protectionist campaign. In a statement, Ahn said his visit marks an opportunity to begin the first minister-level talks between the two countries on trade, industrial and energy policy since Trump took office in January.
READ MORE: South Korea seeks exemption from Trump tariffs
Earlier this month Trump signed a measure to look into new levies on a country-by-country basis, and Lutnick said all studies should be complete by April 1. Trump has also ordered 25 percent tariffs on steel imports.
In addition to requesting an exclusion from those tariffs, Ahn will seek “a stable and consistent investment environment to support the continued implementation of investment projects by South Korean companies,” his ministry said.
Trump has floated the idea of levies on chips and automakers as well, which would hit particularly hard for South Korea, as the trade-reliant country braces for more impact from a slowdown in global commerce. Even tariffs on other nations may have indirect negative impact for South Korea.
South Korea’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate on Tuesday, seeking to buffer the economy against the impact of Trump’s tariffs, while cutting the growth forecast for this year to 1.5 percent, a drop from 1.9 percent projected in November.
Ahn touted the bilateral relationship as one with “boundless potential” for cooperation in sectors, including shipbuilding, nuclear power, and energy, according to his ministry. Trump expressed hopes for a close partnership with South Korea in shipbuilding when he held a phone call with President Yoon Suk-yeol in November.
Yoon has been impeached since for his brief martial law declaration in December and awaits a Constitutional Court ruling that could either finalize his ouster or put him back in office. Under Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok serving as Acting President, a deputy trade minister visited the US earlier this month to ask for an exclusion from Trump’s tariff plans.
READ MORE: Experts warn of tougher US tariffs targeting nation
Separately, a delegation of business executives led by SK Group Chey Tae-won traveled to the US last week, meeting with policymakers and legislators to discuss ways to increase cooperation, according to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The delegation also emphasized the need for “predictability” in government policy in order to perform business activities stably in the US, it said.
