USTR Greer arrives in S. Korea to attend APEC trade ministers' meeting

Seoul, May 14 (IANS) US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to attend a trade ministers' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies and meet with Seoul's trade chief this week.

Greer is set to attend the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, slated for Thursday and Friday at the International Convention Centre on the southern Jeju Island, reports Yonhap news agency.

On Friday, Greer will hold talks with Ahn Duk-geun, Seoul's minister of trade, industry and energy on the sidelines of the APEC meeting, according to Seoul government officials.

The two sides are expected to discuss follow-up measures to the high-level trade consultations between South Korea and the United States, which was held last month in Washington.

Seoul and Washington kicked off their trade talks in April, agreeing to craft a "package" deal on new U.S. tariffs and economic cooperation issues by early July, when U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" duties will end.

The Trump administration imposed country-specific reciprocal tariffs, including 25 percent duties on South Korea, effective from April 9, only to place a 90-day pause on them shortly afterward to allow for negotiations.

Seoul has reportedly proposed expanding bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding and energy sectors as part of efforts to lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.

Observers are also eyeing the possibility of a meeting between the USTR and China's new trade representative, Li Chenggang, during the Jeju event.

Earlier this week, the U.S. and China jointly announced they have reached a deal in a high-stakes dialogue in Geneva to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days for further negotiations.

Under the agreement, the U.S. plans to lower its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent from the current 145 percent, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods will be cut to 10 percent from 125 percent.

--IANS

na/