Jeju: South Korea will host a trade ministers' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies this week on the southern resort island of Jeju, officials announced. The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting is set to run for two days starting Thursday at the International Convention Center in southern Jeju.
According to Yonhap News Agency, trade chiefs from 21 APEC member economies, including representatives from the United States and China, as well as senior officials from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will attend. The meeting's focus is a high-level discussion between South Korea and the U.S. amidst ongoing trade negotiations on issues such as tariffs and economic cooperation.
Ahn Duk-geun, Seoul's minister of trade, industry and energy, is scheduled to meet with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC meeting to address a broad range of trade issues. Seoul and Washington initiated trade talks in April with plans to develop a "package" deal on new U.S. tariffs and economic cooperation by early July, aligning with the end of U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" duties.
The Trump administration imposed country-specific reciprocal tariffs, including 25 percent duties on South Korea, starting on April 9, but placed a 90-day pause shortly afterward to allow for negotiations. The Seoul government has proposed expanding bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding and energy sectors as part of efforts to reduce U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.
Observers are also monitoring the potential meeting between the USTR and China's new trade representative, Li Chenggang, during the Jeju event. Earlier this week, the U.S. and China announced a deal in Geneva, Switzerland, to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days for further negotiations. Under this agreement, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will be reduced to 30 percent from 145 percent, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods will decrease to 10 percent from 125 percent.
The APEC trade ministers' meeting will primarily discuss three agenda items: facilitation of trade, multilateralism, and sustainable trade.