US-Korea Trade Talks Continue with Steel Tariffs in the Background

Negotiators from the US and South Korea met last week in Washington to continue discussions on amending their free trade agreement, known also as the KORUS FTA. The talks come at a time of heightened trade tensions between the two trading partners, particularly with the US set to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminium on Friday. The original KORUS FTA was reached in 2007 under former US President George W. Bush and was later partially renegotiated under former US President Barack Obama, after which it was ratified under both the US and Korean legislatures in 2011. It went into effect in March of the following year. Details on progress were limited at press time, however, and dates for the next round were not yet publicly announced. “Officials from the United States and the Republic of Korea held discussions and are expeditiously negotiating amendments and modifications to the KORUS agreement,” a spokesperson for the Office of the US Trade Representative told Reuters. Yonhap, the Korean government-supported new agency, reported that officials continued talks around Seoul’s auto market and Washington’s planned steel tariffs during last week’s meetings. Current landscape The KORUS FTA has come under scrutiny under the administration of US...