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Acting President Han Duck-soo said US President Donald Trump ordered his administration to conduct immediate tariff negotiations with South Korea, Japan and India.
Acting President Han Duck-soo said that Donald Trump ordered immediate tariff negotiations with Japan, India and his country during a meeting with top government officials. (IMAGE: REUTERS)
Acting President Han Duck-soo revealed on Monday that US President Donald Trump “apparently” directed his administration to start immediate tariff negotiations with South Korea, Japan and India. Han shared this during a meeting with top government officials and major business leaders, referring to Trump’s move following a phone call between the two last week.
“We discussed what we are going to do regarding the implementation of the United States’ reciprocal tariffs, and which subjects South Korea and the US will hold negotiations on,” the acting president was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
“President Trump was very satisfied and apparently gave instructions (to his aides) to hold immediate negotiations with South Korea, Japan and India,” he added.
Duck-soo said South Korea was preparing to send a delegation to the United States soon, led by Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, to begin negotiations across all sectors following apparent instructions from Donald Trump.
“If needed, I will speak to President Trump directly to help find a resolution,” Han said, adding that a videoconference between the two sides on an LNG cooperation project in Alaska was expected within a day or two.
“I believe President Trump agreed with our determination to faithfully conduct win-win negotiations,” Han told the officials.
US tariff exemptions for electronics prompted market rallies Monday from Asia to Wall Street, but failed to settle nerves over a global trade war that Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned would have “no winner.”
Wall Street was buoyant, with the Dow Jones index rising one percent shortly after the opening and the S&P 500 up 1.45 percent. This followed boosts on Asian and European markets.
Investors are relieved at the apparent easing of pressure in President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging but often chaotic attempt to reorder the world economy by using tariffs to force manufacturers to relocate to the United States.
Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China this year rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 percent barrier on US imports.
But even the electronics tariff reprieve — that US officials late Friday said would mean exemptions from the latest duties against China for a range of high-end tech goods such as smartphones, semiconductors and computers — brought new uncertainty.
Trump suggested Sunday that the exemption would be only temporary and said he still planned to put barriers up on imported semiconductors and much else.
“NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair Trade Balances,” Trump blasted on his Truth Social platform. “We are taking a look at Semiconductors and THE WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN.”
(with AFP inputs)
- Location :
Seoul, South Korea
