The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on the 25th (local time) that Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun and USTR Representative Jamieson Greer agreed that it is important to achieve progress for mutual and balanced trade between the U.S. and South Korea.

USTR said, “The meeting between Representative Greer and Minister Ahn held the previous day was productive,” adding that “Representative Greer emphasized the priority of President Donald Trump’s 'America First trade policy.'”

Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is visiting Washington, D.C. to attend the 'G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC)', participates in the 'Korea-U.S. 2+2 Trade Consultation' on the 24th (local time) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy An Duk-geun. They are taking a commemorative photo before starting the meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR representative Jamieson Greer. /Courtesy of News1

It further noted, “The ministers discussed the next steps between USTR and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy during the meeting and instructed their respective working teams to participate in technical discussions next week.”

USTR also mentioned that Representative Greer will attend the Trade Ministers' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to be held next month in Jeju.

Earlier, the two countries held a high-level '2+2 trade consultation' at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington in the morning. From South Korea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok and Minister Ahn attended, while from the U.S., Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Representative Greer participated. In the afternoon, Minister Ahn and Representative Greer held a separate meeting.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, on that day USTR stated that the U.S. is continuously discussing alternatives to reduce or eliminate a 10% tariff on Japan and other countries. However, USTR added that “President Trump decides which agreements to pursue with which countries.”