The so-called “two-plus-two” high-level tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States scheduled for Friday were canceled a day before the meeting was to take place in Washington.

Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) said on Thursday that its two-plus-two meeting with the United States was canceled due to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s urgent commitments.

“The United States has asked to hold the meeting at the earliest possible date, so we plan to set a schedule as soon as possible,” the ministry added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol was informed of the meeting’s cancellation just an hour before his departure at Incheon International Airport.

He immediately held an emergency meeting with about 10 members of the negotiation team on-site before returning to the government complex in Seoul.

The 2+2 talks had been scheduled for Friday (local time), just ahead of the expiration of the August 1st, 2025 deadline for the reciprocal tariff deferral.

Analysts showed mixed reactions, with some viewing the delay as Korea gaining time to adjust its negotiation strategies while others interpreted it as the United States employing a “maximum pressure” strategy right up to the deadline.

Given that Bessent is scheduled to attend the third round of high-level trade talks with China in Stockholm, Sweden, from July 28th to 29th, 2025, it is highly likely that the Korea-U.S. negotiations will extend past the tariff suspension deadline.

For his part, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly proceeded with his planned meeting with a Korean delegation that had arrived in Washington earlier this week.

Some analysts also believe that the United States is putting top priority on negotiations with China and the European Union (EU) over those with Korea. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Financial Times (FT) reported that the U.S. is likely to reach an agreement with the EU to set reciprocal tariff rates at around 15 percent.

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