South Korea sees higher chance of US trade deal by APEC summit

By Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea has a higher chance of reaching a trade deal with the U.S. by the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea later this month, the country’s chief policy advisor said on Sunday.

While the two sides have made concrete progress in most issues, they need to iron out a couple of remaining items, advisor Kim Yong-beom told reporters, after returning from a trip to Washington where he met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Both South Korean and U.S. officials have recently expressed optimism about a breakthrough in their stalled trade talks as the countries’ leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea later this month.

On July 30, President Donald Trump said the U.S. agreed to reduce duties on imports of South Korean products to 15% in return for Seoul investing $350 billion in the U.S. But U.S. auto tariffs are still in place as the countries remain at odds over the details of the investments.

While U.S. President Donald Trump had said South Korea would pay “upfront,” South Korea has said the $350 billion would mostly comprise loans and guarantees, with limited direct investment, given the major impact on the foreign exchange market.

Kim said the two sides are narrowing differences, saying Washington understands Seoul’s concerns about the foreign exchange implications.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday the countries were close to finalising a trade deal and he expected an announcement in the next 10 days.

On Saturday, Trump had a golf outing with business leaders from South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan at his private Mar-a-Lago estate at the invitation of SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son, according to South Korean media reports. The group included the heads of South Korea’s top conglomerates, such as Samsung, SK and Hyundai Motor, the reports said.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)