Industry minister to visit U.S. for talks on tariffs, ‘sensitive’ country listing

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) — Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun will visit the United States this week for talks with U.S. officials on Washington’s impending tariffs and its listing of South Korea as a “sensitive” country, his ministry said Wednesday.

Ahn will visit Washington on Thursday and Friday, just three weeks after his previous trip to the U.S. capital, for another meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on the “reciprocal tariffs” the Trump administration plans to impose on April 2.

Ahn will highlight South Korean businesses’ contributions to the U.S. economy through jobs and investments, and call for Washington’s nondiscriminatory treatment of South Korea under its new tariff scheme, his ministry said.

The minister also plans to meet with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to request the Department of Energy’s removal of South Korea from its “sensitive and other designated countries list,” a designation that has led to concerns about possible new restrictions on scientific and technological cooperation between Seoul and Washington.

“We will stress that South Korea-U.S. cooperation in strategic industries, such as shipbuilding, energy and advanced industries, is very important at this time, and ask the U.S. to minimize any negative impact on South Korean businesses from U.S. tariff measures and other trade policies,” Ahn said.