Choi Sang-mok "U.S. Reciprocal Tariff Announcement Imminent... Actively Explain Our Position"

Choi Sang-mok, Closely Monitoring U.S. Announcement

Checking Our Response Plans

Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated that "with the U.S. announcement imminent, we must not relax our vigilance and actively explain our position to the U.S. side, while also seeking public-private cooperation measures." This was revealed during the external economic issues meeting he presided over on the 24th. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Science and ICT, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Chief of the Presidential Secretariat's Policy Office, the Chief of the National Security Office, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters.

Ahn Deok-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, reported on the results of his meetings with the U.S. Secretary of Energy on the 20th and the Secretary of Commerce on the 21st. He also checked recent trends and our response plans ahead of the U.S. announcement on reciprocal tariffs and item-specific tariffs scheduled for the 2nd of next month (local time).

Acting President Choi also urged to "quickly proceed with follow-up consultations with the U.S. side by forming a government joint task force (TF) centered on relevant agencies" regarding the U.S. Department of Energy designating Korea as a sensitive country.

Kim Dae-young, Hankyung.com reporter kdy@hankyung.com