U.S. Charge d'Affaires Joseph Yun speaks during a luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
A top U.S. diplomat said Korea needs to take "appropriate actions" in response to the Donald Trump administration's intensifying pressure to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. and eliminate nontariff barriers.
U.S. Charge d'Affaires Joseph Yun made the remarks, Tuesday, saying there will be huge concentration in Washington on trade imbalance issues, with the changes going on in his country's tariff policy.
"The trade deficit has increased more than double from Trump 1.0 to Trump 2.0," the Korean American diplomat said during a luncheon meeting hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM). "That is troubling to the new administration in Washington."
His remarks were in line with what U.S. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said in a interview on Monday (local time). The senior White House official mentioned Korea as one of the regions with which his country has suffered an increasing trade deficit, along with Europe and China.
Just like Hassett, who cited nontariff barriers as the main reason behind the trade imbalance, Yun also urged Korea to get rid of restrictions that limit the import of goods in which the U.S. is competitive.
Recalling massive rallies against U.S. beef imports he witnessed in 2008 in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, the interim ambassador picked agriculture as one of the sectors blocked by Korea's nontariff barriers, along with digital technologies, services and resources.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that a U.S. cattlemen's association proposed in Washington that Korea should start importing their beef regardless of the age of the cows. Their proposal was apparently targeting the Korean government's ban on importing U.S. beef from cattle aged 30 months or older, a ban imposed when fears of mad cow disease were high in Korea.
The charge d'affaires emphasized that proactive measures from the Korean government could alleviate impacts from reciprocal tariffs that the White House seeks to announce on April 2.
He advised Seoul to ramp up efforts to negotiate with Washington for a better result.
"I don't think they've made a full decision how reciprocal tariffs are calculated. They will take into account factors such as nontariff barrier and other access issues," Yun said.
He also encouraged Korean companies to increase direct investments in his country, if they want to get credit from Trump.
"I would say that direct investments by big companies, as well as small ones, matter a lot," he said. "During the first Trump administration, Lotte's petrochemical investment in Texas and Louisiana areas got huge attention from the president."
Yun added that the forthcoming opening of Hyundai Motor's Georgia plant and a major purchase agreement between Boeing and Korean Air next week will also gain attention.
During the luncheon, the acting ambassador expressed optimism about the success of the APEC summit to be held later this year in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, saying that Korea will resolve the leadership vacuum in its government by then.
Last week, he expressed confidence in Trump's participation in the APEC summit, and said he expects him to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the international event.