Industry minister meets with Howard Lutnick over trade, investment issues in Washington

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan / Yonhap

Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met with U.S. officials to discuss bilateral trade and industrial issues, including strategic investment projects in the United States, the industry ministry said Wednesday.

Kim met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Aug. 17-18 (U.S. time), with the two sides discussing key issues surrounding potential U.S. investment projects and their timelines while seeking to narrow differences, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said in a press release.

Kim is scheduled to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Aug. 19 to discuss bilateral trade issues, including a Section 301 investigation, and urge the two countries to maintain stable communication channels, it said.

He also plans to meet Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to discuss follow-up measures related to President Donald Trump's recently announced plans to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry and ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the sector.

Kim's trip came two days after South Korea's chief trade negotiator, Yeo Han-koo, was dismissed as Seoul faced mounting trade pressure from Washington.

Earlier, the ministry said the U.S. government was expected to announce by the end of this month the results of an investigation into alleged overproduction under Section 301 of the Trade Act.

Last month, Washington also announced a new set of tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners, ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, following an investigation into forced labor under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Under the new tariff regime, Korea faces a 12.5 percent tariff, along with Japan and Switzerland.

Separately, the U.S. government is investigating 16 economies, including Korea, over alleged excess industrial capacity under the same trade law.