US treasury secretary says contours of trade deal with Korea 'coming together'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday (local time). AP-Yonhap
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that he can see the contours of a trade deal with South Korea "coming together," as Seoul is seeking to secure exemptions and exceptions from the Trump administration's "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs.
During a press conference, Bessent also claimed that South Korea and other countries, which are facing elections or other internal issues, are "much more keen" to come for trade talks to show to their domestic gallery that they have successfully negotiated with the United States.
"I could see the contours of a deal with the Republic of Korea coming together," Bessent said, referring to South Korea, as he pointed out progress in trade talks with countries, including India and Japan.
Last week, South Korea and the U.S. held high-level trade consultations and agreed to seek a "July package" agreement on U.S. tariffs and bilateral economic and industrial cooperation before July 8 when President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends.
Observers anticipate that a deal might be finalized after South Korea holds a presidential election on June 3, a national vote triggered by the recent ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law imposition in December.
Responding to a question about to what extent domestic issues facing South Korea and other trading partners are complicating trade talks, Bessent claimed that those countries want to have the "framework of a deal" before they go into elections.
"We are finding that they are actually much more keen to come to the table, get this done, and then go home and campaign on it," the secretary said.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview that the U.S. has reached its first trade deal with a country which he declined to name.
"I have a deal done, done, done, done, but I need to wait for their prime minister and their parliament to give its approval, which I expect shortly," Lutnick told CNBC.