South Korea resumes talks with US

Seoul resumes negotiations with Washington on tariffs this Friday, with a focus on shipbuilding, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization.

On the sidelines of a meeting of APEC trade ministers, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is scheduled to meet with South Korean Trade and Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun.

Greer and Ahn met in Washington in late April.

The APEC ministerial meeting kicked off Thursday on the southern island of Jeju in South Korea.

Earlier this morning, Greer met with an influential South Korean official, Chung Ki-sun, vice president of HD Hyundai, a shipbuilding giant, and is also expected to meet with an executive from Hanwha Ocean, another giant in the sector.

Washington relies on Seoul's help in shipbuilding , a sector in which South Korea is a leader after China, and where the United States intends to strengthen its position to reduce dependence on foreign countries.

HD Hyundai said in a statement that it offered Greer a collaboration in manufacturing port cranes and proposed “areas of cooperation” including joint technological developments and training of skilled workers.

According to experts and local media, Ahn Duk-geun may also discuss with the US leader the possibility of increasing South Korean imports of liquefied natural gas from the US , as well as the exchange rate of the won, a currency that Washington says is undervalued.

With a trade surplus of $66 billion (€59 billion) with the United States in 2024 (just behind Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan), South Korea has been in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump.

The country, which relies heavily on exports, has already been hit hard by the 25% tariffs on cars imposed by Trump in early April.

The automotive industry accounts for 27% of South Korea's exports to the United States, which is the destination for half of South Korean cars sold abroad.

In April, Trump also announced a tariff of up to 25% on South Korean exports , before suspending it until early July.

Seoul hopes to avoid imposing this tax through a “comprehensive agreement” with the United States.

Also in April, Washington launched an investigation into semiconductors, paving the way for tariffs on the sector.

South Korea exported $10.7 billion (€9.55 billion) worth of semiconductors to the United States in 2024, largely thanks to two South Korean chip giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The trade war comes as South Korea emerges weakened from a long political crisis that led to the ouster of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The country's economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2025.