U.S.
and South Korean officials focused on their main areas of interest in the
initial talks held January 5, with the U.S. emphasizing trade in automobiles
and what it considers various barriers to exports, U.S. negotiators said. South
Korea said the two sides discussed "sensitive issues," including
investor state dispute settlement and trade remedies, according to a South
Korean media report.
“We
have much work to do to reach an agreement that serves the economic interests
of the American people,” U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer
said in a statement after the meeting. Over a series of meetings in the coming
months, American negotiators hope to further open Korean markets to American
cars and to smooth irritants in the trading relationship.