Hyundai looks to Gyeongju for progress in tariff talks

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, left, listens as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the White House in Washington, March 24 following the automaker’s announcement of a $21 billion investment in the United States. From left are Chung, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon, Hyundai Motor President Sung Kim and Hyundai Steel President Seo Gang-hyun. AFP-Yonhap

Hyundai Motor Group’s top executives — represented by its Executive Chair Chung Euisun — are set to make last-ditch efforts to help achieve a breakthrough in Korea’s stalled tariff talks with the United States at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit.

The carmaker seeks to take advantage of the event — slated for three days beginning Tuesday — as a major opportunity for smooth progress in the two countries’ unsettled trade negotiations.

Chung is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in the event’s host city of Gyeongju this week and reiterate the carmaker’s pledge to expand its U.S. investment.

Hyundai Motor Group’s two carmakers — Hyundai Motor and Kia — are urgently seeking a tariff reduction in the U.S., where a 25 percent import duty on Korean vehicles remains in place.

In July, Korea and the U.S. reached a framework agreement, which included a reduction of auto tariffs to 15 percent, in exchange for Seoul’s planned $350 billion (500 trillion won) investment in the U.S.

President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump after holding a summit at the White House in Washington, Aug. 26. Joint Press Corps

However, it has not taken effect, with both sides failing to finalize a deal amid friction over the details concerning the investment fund.

Korean carmakers remain subject to the higher 25 percent U.S. tariff, while their major rivals from Japan and Europe face only 15 percent.

Chung held multiple meetings with Trump this year. Starting from his symbolic White House appearance in March, the third-generation heir of the automaker has made repeated pledges to expand U.S. investment in line with Trump’s "America First" policy initiative. The U.S. is the largest export market for the Korean carmaker.

Other senior executives from the carmaker, including Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon, Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz and Kia CEO Song Ho-sung, will accompany Chung to a meeting with U.S. officials on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit.

“All top executives from the group will appear at the upcoming APEC CEO Summit to find a breakthrough in its tariff-hit U.S. business, and support the Korean government’s ongoing trade negotiation with the U.S.,” an official from a major conglomerate said.

Unlike Hyundai Motor Group, heads of major overseas automakers will be absent from the upcoming APEC events.

GM Korea CEO Hector Villarreal, who was widely expected to attend given the company’s exposure to U.S. tariffs, will not participate in the APEC CEO Summit. The automaker exports more than 80 percent of its total production to the U.S., leaving it heavily affected by the tariffs.

Other top executives from major imported carmakers here — such as Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Mathias Vaitl, BMW Korea CEO Han Sang-yun and Audi Korea CEO Steve Cloete — will also skip the upcoming event.