South Korea has requested exemptions from country-specific "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs imposed by the United States during high-level trade talks held in Washington, while offering to boost its energy imports from the US and help rebuild the country's shipbuilding industry, the finance ministry said, Report informs via Yonhap.
The request for tariff exemptions was made during the "2+2" trade dialogue held on Thursday, which brought together South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
During the talks, Ahn called for South Korea's exemption from both reciprocal and item-specific tariff measures, including the already-imposed steel and auto tariffs, as well as those yet to be announced, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a press release.
The trade minister also proposed measures to strengthen sustainable and balanced bilateral trade, enhance South Korea's energy security and contribute jointly to the revitalization of the US shipbuilding industry.
The talks have drawn significant attention as South Korea, an export-oriented economy, was among the first countries to engage in sit-downs with the Donald Trump administration following its announcement of sweeping tariff measures targeting key trading partners.
The Trump administration slapped country-specific reciprocal tariffs, including 25 percent duties on South Korea, starting on April 9, only to place a 90-day pause on them shortly afterward to allow for negotiations. As with other nations, South Korea also faces a 25-percent levy on shipments of automobiles, with duties of the same rate on some auto parts set to come into effect by May 3.
The ministry said Choi, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, also conveyed the South Korean public's concerns over the latest US tariff actions, emphasizing Seoul's reliability as a trusted economic partner.
Choi also proposed exploring mutually beneficial and reciprocal cooperation measures that would serve the interests of both countries.
He further explained to the US side that, given the current domestic situation in South Korea, calm and orderly consultations were necessary, the ministry said, apparently referring to the leadership vacuum caused by the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law imposition in December.
The ministry noted that the dialogue marked the first official consultations under the new framework and was held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere.
Both sides agreed to continue working-level meetings and hold additional high-level discussions moving forward, the ministry said.
Following the talks, Secretary Bessent described the meeting as "very successful," noting that Seoul came prepared and that further discussions on "technical terms" could begin as early as next week.
"We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of Korea today. We may be moving faster than I thought," Bessent said during a press availability at the White House, referring to South Korea by its official name.
Following the "2+2" dialogue, Ahn held a separate meeting with Greer and agreed to launch working-level consultations at an early date, according to the industry ministry.
The ministry said the two sides reached a "principled agreement on the framework for bilateral consultations," and agreed to hold working-level discussions next week to determine the scope and modalities of future consultations.
"As the two countries agreed to launch consultations on technical terms through this meeting, a communications channel for detailed discussions has now been established," Ahn was quoted as saying.
Officials from South Korea's science, environment, agriculture, health and other ministries also attended the two-way meeting to discuss a broad range of trade issues with the US, the ministry said.