Seoul, April 23
South Korea will discuss ways to bolster the country's cooperation with the United States in the shipbuilding and energy sectors at the upcoming bilateral "2+2 trade consultations," Seoul's top trade official said on Wednesday.
Seoul has highlighted such cooperation as a way of addressing the trade imbalance between the allies, which has prompted Washington to impose hefty import tariffs on South Korea under its broader tariff scheme affecting all its major trading partners, reports News Agency.
"We plan to discuss the trade imbalance issue, as well as industrial cooperation in the shipbuilding and energy sectors," Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun told reporters as he headed to Washington for the high-level talks with the U.S. that will also be attended by Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.
The two South Korean ministers are scheduled to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer for the "2+2" talks on Thursday (US time).
Ahn said he and Choi will "work to lay the foundation for future negotiations on the items. We will engage in the negotiations with a calm and deliberate approach."