SEOUL, March 26 (AP) — South Korea has agreed to further open its auto market to the United States as the two countries prepare to amend their six-year-old trade agreement following complaints by President Donald Trump. South Korea's top trade negotiator said on Monday that the revised agreement calls for delaying the earlier agreed-to elimination of tariffs on South Korean-made pick-up trucks to 2041 from 2021. The US side agreed that annual exports of up to 2.7 million tons of South Korean steel products will be exempted from recently announced 25 per cent tariffs. The auto sector is among the most contentious issues in South Korea's trade dealings with the US. Yet, the revised agreement will likely have little immediate impact on South Korea's exports to the United States. Nor is it likely to have much impact on US exports to South Korea. While South Korea made some concessions to US demands on the key auto trade issues, the revision of the free trade pact aligns with South Korea's own interests, experts said. South Korean negotiators managed to avoid changes in treatment of its agriculture sector, a highly sensitive area in domestic politics. "Overall, it's a relief," said Cheong Inkyo, a professor of international trade at Inha University in Incheon, South Korea. "The United States achieved most of its goal while we made some concessions in the auto sector. But the outcome falls within our national interest." South Korea's Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said although the United States will end 25 per cent tariffs on South Korean-made pick-up trucks 20 years later than earlier planned, no local auto companies export pick-up trucks made in South Korea to the United States. Conversely, South Korea agreed to allow the number of US-made vehicles to be imported without being subject to local safety regulations to double to 50,000 a year. However, no American car brand sold more than 10,000 vehicles in South Korea last year. South Korea also will ease emission standards for American cars shipped from 2021-2025, when the Asian country is due to set new import regulations. South Korean automakers did not comment on the postponement of eliminating tariffs on their trucks. The Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association praised the government's efforts to protect South Korean automakers and avoid major changes on sensitive issues such as adjusting tariffs.
