By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday and reaffirmed a commitment to reach a deal on tariffs by the August 1 deadline, South Korea's industry ministry said on Friday.
During the meeting in Washington, the two discussed how cooperation between the two countries' manufacturing sectors could bolster a deal to lower proposed U.S. tariffs set to be slapped on South Korea, the ministry said in a statement.
"We'll
do our best so that our companies are not put at a disadvantage relative to those in competing countries," the ministry cited Kim as saying after his meeting.
Kim and South Korea's Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo have been in Washington amid intense efforts by Seoul to reach a deal, which one official said were in the "critical final phase."
Kim earlier met U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Yeo planned to hold talks with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the ministry said.
Pressure on South Korea heightened this week after Japan clinched a deal with the United States, which U.S. President Donald Trump said would see Tokyo allowing greater market access for American products including autos and some agricultural products.
Lutnick indicated U.S. officials were fully aware of the urgency felt by South Korean officials to get a deal, especially after Trump announced the agreement with Japan.
"You can hear the expletives out of Korea when they read the Japanese deal," Lutnick said on CNBC on Thursday ahead of his meeting with Kim.
"They very, very much want to make a deal," he said, referring to South Korea.
NEW TEAM IN SEOUL
Some top Seoul officials thrown into the high-stakes negotiations have been in their jobs for less than a week after new President Lee Jae Myung only recently completed his cabinet lineup.
South Korea and Japan compete in areas such as autos and steel, and Japan's deal was seen by investors as a benchmark for the type of agreement Seoul should target in negotiations, analysts have said.
In a blow to efforts to reach a deal, South Korea's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol's plan to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday was postponed.
The South Korean side said they were informed about the cancellation only 90 minutes before Koo was set to depart for Washington on Thursday, with the U.S. attributing the move to a scheduling conflict for Bessent.
Seoul will propose to Washington an investment package plan worth at least $100 billion, which would involve major South Korean conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group, the Yonhap News Agency has reported.
President Lee met Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee on Thursday and has also held talks with other business leaders, including the heads of SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor and the LG conglomerate to discuss global trade and investing in the U.S., his office said.
South Korean companies are expected to be partners of the government in any investment package offered to the United States. Japan pledged a $550 billion package of investment and loans as part of its trade deal, which Lutnick said would be used "at Donald Trump's discretion."
(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Ed Davies and Lincoln Feast.)
