South Korea has agreed to further open its auto market to the United States as the two countries reached an agreement in principle on amending their six-year-old free trade agreement, its top trade negotiator said Monday.
South Korea’s Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said the United States will lift tariffs on South Korean-made pick-up trucks in 2041 instead of 2021. It will also be able to export 25,000 additional American vehicles to South Korea without having to comply with domestic regulations. South Korea will ease emission standards for American cars shipped from 2021-2025 when the Asian country sets new import regulations.
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Kim said South Korea also won an exemption from import tariffs on steel products. The third-largest steel exporter to the United States after Canada and Brazil, South Korea was on the list of 12 countries U.S. President Donald Trump recently said would be hit with heavy tariffs on their exports of steel and aluminum products to the U.S.
The South Korean announcement came hours after President Donald Trump said the United States is on the verge of amending its trade agreement with South Korea.
The president told reporters at a Friday news conference that trade deals are being made with various countries and then highlighted South Korea, a key economic and national security partner in Asia. The United States ran a $10.3 billion trade deficit with South Korea last year.
After Trump’s remarks, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he hoped a final agreement with Seoul would be announced next week.
The free trade pact between the United States and South Korea went into effect in 2012.
