Trade Minister to persuade U.S.

[Anchor]

Our chief trade negotiator has visited the United States to begin discussions on tariff policies.

He stated that he would accentuate the value of strategic cooperation with South Korea.

President Trump has continued to threaten tariffs while warning of retaliation from Europe and others.

This is reporter Park Il-jung from New York.

[Report]

Ahead of the announcement of mutual tariffs by country on April 2, Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo has arrived in the United States.

Unlike the steel tariffs that have been uniformly applied worldwide this week, without exception, Chief Cheong hinted that there is room for negotiation on mutual tariffs for our country.

[Cheong In-kyo/Trade Minister: "Mutual tariffs will inevitably vary significantly depending on the country and the item. We need to first understand the scoring criteria..."]

He plans to provide tailored persuasion, including explaining ways to reduce the trade surplus with the U.S.

He also plans to highlight areas of cooperation in security aspects, such as the shipbuilding industry.

[Cheong In-kyo/Trade Minister: "Which countries are easy to cooperate with? I believe that South Korea is among the top group."]

Chief Cheong predicted that additional negotiations would be necessary once the mutual tariff rates are announced, indicating that it would take more time before actual implementation.

However, President Trump stated that there would be little change after the announcement on April 2.

He also appears unwilling to back down from the tariffs already implemented, threatening additional tariffs in response to Canada and the EU's countermeasures.

[Donald Trump/President of the United States: "Now, there will be a little disruption, but it wont' be very long. But they need us, we really don't need them. and we have to do this."]

South Korea is the eighth largest country causing a trade deficit for the U.S.

The Trump administration is pursuing fundamental structural changes rather than temporary measures, so there are many challenges that Korea must address to achieve results in negotiations.

This is Park Il-jung from KBS News in New York.