South Korea is set to resume crucial tariff negotiations with the United States on Friday, a government official told AFP, as ministers from leading economies gather for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on Jeju Island. The talks come amid heightened global trade tensions, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures announced last month. South Korea, a key American trading partner, has been pushing to soften the blow from recent U.S. levies—particularly in the automotive sector. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has been holding a flurry of bilateral meetings during the summit. On Friday, he is expected to meet South Korean Minister of Trade and Industry Ahn Duk-geun, with Seoul aiming for meaningful progress on its proposed “July Package,” which seeks to eliminate the steep tariffs. The two trade officials previously met in Washington in late April. South Korea is hoping to head off the full implementation of Trump’s threatened “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 25 percent, which were announced last month but temporarily suspended until early July. South Korea, which posted a $66 billion trade surplus with the U.S. last year—behind only Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan—is particularly vulnerable to the new tariffs. Its export-heavy economy has already been impacted by the 25 percent duty imposed on automobiles in early April. The U.S. accounts for nearly half of South Korea’s car exports, and the auto sector comprises 27 percent of the country’s total shipments to America. As part of its strategy to reduce trade friction, Seoul is offering to increase imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) and boost collaboration in shipbuilding, where South Korea holds a dominant global position second only to China. On Friday morning, Greer met with Chung Ki-sun, vice chairman of HD Hyundai, South Korea’s largest shipbuilder. The company described the meeting as a landmark occasion—the first of its kind between a U.S. trade representative and a South Korean shipbuilding executive. Talks reportedly focused on strategic cooperation with American shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries. Greer is also scheduled to meet with the CEO of Hanwha Ocean, a major defense contractor that provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for U.S. Navy vessels. The meetings appeared to buoy investor confidence, with shares of Hanwha Ocean rising nearly 3 percent and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gaining as much as 3.6 percent on Friday morning. Meanwhile, Chinese international trade representative Li Chenggang was also spotted in bilateral talks with Greer, just days after both sides agreed in Geneva to suspend retaliatory tariffs for 90 days. As trade tensions ripple through the global economy, all eyes remain on the U.S.-South Korea discussions and whether Seoul’s diplomatic push can secure relief from Washington’s trade offensive.