Trump, Han hold first call ahead of US tariff deadline

Acting President Han Duck-soo held phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump for 28 minutes on 8th April. It marks their first dialogue since Trump’s second term began. 

After the phone call, Trump wrote on social media that he discussed tariffs and what he called South Korea’s “tremendous and unsustainable” trade surplus with the U.S. Trump also mentioned defense payments, an area Seoul has been avoiding to remark on. 

In the post, Trump also said that “one stop shopping” is a beautiful and efficient process, hinting at negotiations that combine trade, industry and security issues. Meanwhile, Han highlighted the will for higher-level cooperation with Washington in shipbuilding, LNG and also trade balance. He made clear that Seoul will present alternative measures to reduce the trade deficit, which is the goal of Trump’s tariff campaign.