USTR Greer, other APEC trade ministers to meet on S. Korea's Jeju island this week

SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- 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, Seoul government officials said Wednesday.

The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting will run for two days starting Thursday at the International Convention Center in southern Jeju, according to the officials.

Trade chiefs of 21 APEC member economies, including 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.

The focus of this year's meeting is on a high-level meeting between South Korea and the U.S. amid the ongoing trade negotiations on various issues, including tariffs and economic cooperation.

Ahn Duk-geun, Seoul's minister of trade, industry and energy, plans to meet with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC meeting to discuss a broad range of trade issues, according to the officials.

Seoul and Washington kicked off their trade talks in April, agreeing to craft a "package" deal on new U.S. tariffs and economic cooperation issues by early July, when U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" duties will end.

The Trump administration slapped country-specific reciprocal tariffs, including 25 percent duties on South Korea, starting on April 9, only to place a 90-day pause on them shortly afterward to allow for negotiations.

The Seoul government has reportedly proposed expanding bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding and energy sectors as part of efforts to lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.

Observers are also eyeing the possibility of a meeting between the USTR and China's new trade representative, Li Chenggang, during the Jeju event.

Earlier this week, the U.S. and China jointly announced they have reached a deal in a high-stake dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland, to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days for further negotiations.

Under the agreement, U.S. plans to lower its tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent from the current 145 percent, while Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods will be cut to 10 percent from 125 percent.

Meanwhile, the upcoming APEC trade ministers' meeting will mainly discuss three agenda items -- facilitation of trade, multilateralism and sustainable trade.

nyway@yna.co.kr
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