U.S., South Korea close KORUS talks

The United States and South Korea have agreed in principle to a set of amendments on the six-year-old deal, South Korea’s trade minister said Monday.    The U.S. and South Korea have reached an agreement in principle on amendments to be made to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong announced Monday.
   The amendments will provide no further opening of agricultural markets and no changes to already lifted tariffs, Kim said.
   The U.S. has sought to accomplish several objectives since the negotiations started in July, including a reduction of its bilateral trade deficit, improvement in the automobile trade balance, and greater market access for U.S. exports.
   Kim also clarified that the U.S. is exempting South Korea from “Section 232” steel tariffs in exchange for a yearly quota of 2.68 million tons, about 70 percent of the annual average South Korean steel exports to the U.S. between 2015 and 2017.
   The White House also announced on Thursday that tariffs on aluminum and steel from South Korea and several other countries would be suspended until May 1, pending discussions on “satisfactory long-term alternative means to address the threatened impairment to U.S. national security.”
   More information wasn’t immediately available. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t respond to a request for comment.