Inside Trade

September 21, 2025

U.S.-Korea FTA News

U.S., South Korea slated for KORUS talks in Seoul next week

The U.S. and South Korea will meet in Seoul next week to continue talks on amendments and modifications to the U.S. Korea Free Trade Agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced on Thursday. The talks are slated for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, according to a USTR statement. The first round of negotiations was held on Jan. 5, in Washington, DC. “The United States will engage on priority areas with the goal of moving towards fair and reciprocal trade and...

Sources: Canada and Mexico – but not South Korea – to be excluded from safeguard remedies

The administration plans to exclude Canada and Mexico from any remedies resulting from Section 201 investigations into imports of solar products and large residential washers due to safeguard provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade . South Korea, however, will not be excluded, they said. Under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, President Trump has until Jan. 26 to make a decision in the solar investigation and until Feb. 4 to determine...

South Korea expects tough trade talk, more pressure from U.S. in January

South Korea's trade minister expects January will bring tougher trade talk from President Trump that could increase the pressure on South Korea in its negotiations with the U.S. The state-backed Yonhap news agency quotes Kim Hyun-chong telling reporters the Trump administration “has adopted protectionist trade policies to create more jobs and cut trade deficits, so the U.S. is expected to add pressure in the FTA talks ... ahead of the first anniversary of his inauguration on Jan. 20,” adding, “It...

U.S., Korea address autos, ISDS and other 'sensitive' issues at first KORUS negotiating session

The U.S. and South Korea have “much work to do” to make their free trade agreement more palatable to the Trump administration, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said at the conclusion of an initial negotiating session on Friday. As expected, the one-day session dealt with the automotive sector – which the administration has repeatedly cited as a key target – and other “sector-specific barriers impacting U.S. exports,” USTR said in a statement . South Korea, meanwhile, said in its readout...

KORUS negotiators expected to focus on organizational issues, set timetable and goals

The U.S. and South Korea are expected to focus mainly on the agenda and scope of their talks on how to modify the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement when they meet on Friday in Washington, DC, sources told Inside U.S. Trade . “It should be constructive. No one is expecting a contentious meeting; it's mainly about getting this thing going,” a source said, saying the initial talks would be unlike the first special session of the KORUS joint committee, held...

USTR announcement of Jan. 5 'amendment negotiations' on KORUS

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U.S., South Korea to discuss KORUS 'amendments and modifications' on Jan. 5

The U.S. and South Korea will meet early next year to begin negotiating changes to their free trade agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced on Dec. 27. The KORUS talks will be held in Washington, DC, on Jan. 5. Leading the U.S. side in the talks on “potential amendments and modifications” to KORUS will be Michael Beeman, assistant USTR for Japan, Korea and APEC. Korea's side will be led by Myung-hee Yoo, director general from the Ministry of Trade,...

South Korea: KORUS talks could begin by the end of the year or in early 2018

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Monday announced the completion of its statutory requirements for renegotiating trade deals and said it would push for talks on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement to begin as early as this month. “Starting with talks within this year or early next year, we will push for follow-up negotiations with a three- to four-week interval ,” the ministry said, according to the state-backed news service Yonhap. The ministry, in a Dec. 18...

Ross: U.S. needs ‘permanent solution’ to shrink trade deficit with South Korea

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Tuesday appealed for “permanent solutions” to the trade gap between the U.S. and South Korea. “This year, at the government’s urging for Koreans to buy more American products, the trade in goods deficit has decreased by about $4 billion compared to the previous year,” Ross said during a Dec. 12 event hosted by the Atlantic Council. “We appreciate that effort, but we need permanent solutions, not temporary forbearance.” Ross said the U.S. goal is to...

Reports: Trump picks former Bush White House adviser as envoy to South Korea

President Trump plans to nominate a former White House adviser on Asian affairs, Victor Cha, to be U.S. ambassador to South Korea, according to reports. Cha is the director of Asian studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. From 2004 to 2007, he was the director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council. Cha is also a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His CSIS bio says that while in the White House he...

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