**Scott Bessant Meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary to Discuss Tariff Negotiations**
Presidential Chief of Staff: “Achieving a currency swap doesn’t mean it’s over… The principle is mutual benefit, and there will be no sacrifice of principles due to deadlines.”
“The contents of the MOU proposed by the United States are vastly different from the agreement in July.”
On the 24th (local time), President Lee Jae-myung met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant at the Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York to discuss matters related to the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations.
The president’s office noted that in the midst of a deadlock in Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations over a $350 billion investment fund, President Lee directly explained critical issues such as currency swaps to Secretary Bessant, describing it as “a significant turning point in the negotiation process.”
In a briefing held in New York, Presidential Policy Director Kim Yong-beom reported that President Lee evaluated security cooperation between Korea and the U.S. as progressing well and emphasized the importance of achieving beneficial agreements in trade matters as well.
Despite the conclusion of Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations on July 30, there has been no progress in subsequent discussions, leading to a lack of concrete tariff reduction measures, according to Kim.
Regarding the $350 billion investment fund, Kim relayed that “President Lee expects discussions on the investment package to progress in a direction that aligns with the commercial rationality and interests of both countries, acknowledging Korea’s differences in economic scale, foreign exchange market, and infrastructure from Japan.”
Secretary Bessant reportedly responded by saying, “The Korea-U.S. alliance is strong, and while there may be temporary challenges, they can be overcome.” The president’s office further noted that Secretary Bessant conveyed, “President Donald Trump also recognizes the importance of Korea, particularly emphasizing its crucial partnership in shipbuilding.”
During the briefing, Kim Yong-beom also addressed the stalemate in the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, highlighting discrepancies in the understanding of the $350 billion investment fund. He pointed out that while most of it was anticipated to be loans or guarantees during the July agreement, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) from the U.S. differed significantly, requiring Korea to invest most of the funds directly.
Kim emphasized that there is no set deadline for the negotiations, asserting that they should result in commercially rational and mutually beneficial outcomes that align with national interests, without sacrificing principles due to time constraints.
As for setting up a “currency swap” with the U.S., Kim mentioned that even if an unlimited currency swap is achieved, this does not automatically resolve the tariff negotiation agreement, noting the need for parliamentary approval. This implies that even if established, significant direct cash investments exceeding certain limits would still be challenging.
Finally, Kim identified the upcoming APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting in Gyeongju as a critical juncture, anticipating that if President Trump attends, there would be a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, influencing the tariff negotiations.