Seoul: South Korea's top trade official on Friday urged the United States to quickly begin negotiations to renegotiate tariff limits imposed on Seoul's steel exports by former President Donald Trump's administration.

According to sources, during a joint committee meeting of the bilateral free trade agreement, South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request to visiting US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. In a statement, Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said, "We once again communicated our stance and concerns regarding the Section 232 guidelines, and asked that the two parties begin negotiations as soon as possible."

A top US trade official has visited South Korea for the first time in ten years. South Korea has been lobbying for the Section 232 tariff laws to be revised. In October, the US decided to reduce import tariffs of 25 percent on European steel and 10 percent on aluminium imposed by Trump in 2018. The increase will go into effect on January 1, 2022.

The US lifted tariffs on South Korean goods in 2018, but only in exchange for a yearly steel import quota of 2.63 million tonnes, or 70 percent of Seoul's average steel export volume for the previous three years.

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