S. Korean industry minister, US commerce secretary meet over trade deal

Seoul, Sep 13 (IANS) South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met in New York to hold follow-up talks on the two countries' trade deal reached in July, multiple sources said.

Kim has been in the United States this week to iron out differences over the details of the trade agreement under which South Korea will invest US$350 billion in the U.S. in return for Washington's lowering of "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korea from 25 percent to 15 percent.

According to the diplomatic sources, Kim and Lutnick held talks at an undisclosed location in New York, reports Yonhap news agency.

"I don't believe we are at a stage to announce an outcome," one source said of the discussions.

The trade agreement was reached in July and affirmed in broad terms during last month's Washington summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The details of the investment plan remain undecided, however, with South Korea's presidential chief of staff for policy, Kim Yong-bum, recently saying the two sides are at an "impasse."

Lutnick said in a CNBC interview Thursday that Seoul should either accept the bilateral framework trade deal from July or pay 25 percent tariffs.

South Korea's presidential office said the next day that national interest will remain the top priority.

"As President Lee Jae Myung said ... (we) will not take part in negotiations that veer from rationality and fairness," a presidential official said.

Meanwhile, the US immigration raid that led to the detention of hundreds of South Korean workers in Georgia may have not only humiliated a close ally of the United States but also left a "deep scar" on the countries' economic ties, heightening uncertainties for foreign investment in the US, industry observers said.

US immigration officials arrested about 475 workers, including around 300 South Koreans, during a raid last week at a Georgia construction site for an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant being built by a Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint venture, citing alleged unlawful employment practices.

The South Korean workers returned home via a chartered Korean Air flight from Atlanta.

—IANS

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