U.S.-South Korea Trade Talks End First Day Without Agreement After Presidential Tariff Warning

Face-to-face trade discussions between the United States and South Korea concluded their first day without a resolution, Yonhap reported. The diplomatic engagement followed public comments from the U.S. president threatening higher tariffs on South Korean goods, prompting Seoul to send senior officials to Washington for continued talks and assurances about implementing a previously agreed trade deal.

Key Points

First day of in-person U.S.-South Korea trade talks ended without agreement, according to Yonhap.
South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan visited the U.S. Department of Commerce and will meet Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick again tomorrow; South Korea's trade envoy Yeo Han-koo has traveled to Washington to meet U.S. trade negotiator Jamieson Greer.
The talks were triggered by public statements from the U.S. president threatening to raise tariffs on autos and other goods and criticizing South Korea's delay in passing legislation to implement a trade deal that ties tariff reductions to large investments in U.S. projects - impacting the autos and investment sectors.

SEOUL, Jan 30 - The United States and South Korea finished the opening day of in-person trade negotiations without reaching a conclusion, Yonhap reported on Friday. The talks occurred amid heightened tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly threatened to raise tariffs on South Korean exports.

South Korea's Industry Minister, Kim Jung-kwan, held meetings at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington and is scheduled to meet again with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick tomorrow, according to Yonhap. The Industry Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the outcome of the sessions.

The discussions followed public complaints by the U.S. president on social media earlier in the week, when he said South Korea's parliament had not passed legislation needed to implement a trade agreement reached last year. In those posts, the president vowed to raise duties on autos and other goods.

Those remarks appeared to take Seoul by surprise and prompted South Korean officials to move quickly to reassure the United States that they remained committed to enacting the trade deal. The pact, as described in reporting on the talks, ties tariff concessions to large-scale investments in U.S. business projects by South Korean entities.

On Tuesday, the president said the two countries would work toward a resolution. In parallel diplomatic moves, South Korea's trade envoy Yeo Han-koo departed Seoul for Washington to meet with the U.S. trade negotiator Jamieson Greer.

With senior ministers and envoys involved on both sides, scheduling of follow-up meetings in Washington indicates talks will continue. Officials in Seoul are attempting to balance domestic legislative processes with commitments made under the trade deal while responding to public pressure from the U.S. president to show progress.

At this stage, parties have not announced a formal agreement or detailed timeline for implementing the outstanding elements of the pact. The close of the first day of face-to-face negotiations leaves the outcome uncertain as delegations prepare for further discussions in the coming days.

Risks

Threat of higher U.S. tariffs on autos and other goods creates uncertainty for the autos sector, potentially affecting manufacturers and suppliers.
Delays in South Korea's parliamentary approval of implementation bills could jeopardize timely execution of investment commitments tied to tariff concessions, creating risk for firms planning U.S. project investments.
Continued public pressure and rapid diplomatic exchanges increase policy uncertainty that could affect trade-dependent industries and companies evaluating cross-border investment decisions.

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