South Korean tariffs talks 'may be moving faster' than expected: US Treasury chief
South Koreans 'came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,' Scott Bessent says
WASHINGTON
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that trade talks with South Korea "may be moving faster" than expected.
"We had a very successful bilateral meeting with Republic of South Korea today. We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week, as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.
"So, South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that," Bessent told reporters at the White House.
South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok departed Tuesday for the US to attend the first round of trade negotiations with US officials.
The Trump administration slapped a 25% across-the-board tariff on South Korea that has been temporarily reduced to 10% for 90 days.
South Korean Acting President Han Duck-soo hopes the talks will produce a "win-win" outcome.
