As the U.S. government's country-specific mutual tariffs went into effect on the 9th, the government stated its policy to respond through negotiations rather than retaliatory tariffs. There are plans to use the shipbuilding sector, which President Donald Trump is showing interest in, as a negotiating card.
Minister An Duk-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy attended the full meeting of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, SMEs and Startups Committee on the 9th and said, "If we respond with retaliatory tariffs, Korea, which has a high dependency on trade, may suffer more self-harm." He noted, "We will focus on fundamentally resolving the issue through consultations with the United States."
Minister An also emphasized, "The Trump administration is showing significant interest in cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, so this field could be an important negotiating card." He continued, "The U.S. shipbuilding capability has continuously weakened since World War II, and there is much expectation regarding the shipbuilding technology and manufacturing capability that our country currently possesses," adding, "I believe that the aspects we have reinforced as a strong ally from a security standpoint give us great trust."
Regarding the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project mentioned by President Trump in his call with Acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, he stated, "Since we have not committed to conducting the LNG project, we need to discuss with the U.S. whether it is viable and in what form we can cooperate."
Even though mutual tariffs have been imposed despite being a party to the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Minister An emphasized that "the Korea-U.S. FTA must be maintained."
He explained, "To take the most important automobile in exports to the U.S. as an example, thanks to the FTA, Korea pays only a 25% mutual tariff on a tariff base of '0,' while competitor countries like Japan and the European Union (EU) face a tariff of 27.5% (2.5% + 25%)."
Minister An also mentioned plans to soon visit the U.S. to hold direct consultations with U.S. officials. He stated, "After the acting minister's call with President Trump the day before, we are receiving quite a positive signal from the U.S.," adding, "I plan to go to the U.S. soon, and when the chief of the trade negotiation office returns, I will analyze the contents discussed with the U.S. comprehensively across ministries."