South Korea Agrees to Speed Up KORUS Consultations
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during a joint press conference with President Donald Trump Nov. 7, that the leaders “agreed to have the relevant authorities expedite” ongoing U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) consultations. Trump said he’s “confident” the two…
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nations will reach a “free, fair, and reciprocal trade deal” through those talks, but also criticized outcomes of the current deal. “I would like to thank President Moon for instructing his trade negotiators to work closely with us to quickly pursue a much better deal -- a deal that, frankly, has been quite unsuccessful and not very good for the United States,” Trump said. South Korean trade officials agreed to work with the U.S. in resolving implementation issues and discussing potential modifications to KORUS last month (see 1710060012). Trump also mentioned that the U.S. has approved some South Korean orders for “billions of dollars’ worth” of military equipment, with more to come, which should help reduce the U.S. trade deficit with the nation and increase U.S. jobs, Trump said. Additionally, Moon appeared to link the two countries’ trade and defense relationships, mentioning that South Korea demonstrated “huge contributions to the KORUS alliance” during Trump’s visit to a U.S. military base iin the country.