South Korea's top trade envoy said on Monday it may be possible to strike an "in-principle" trade deal with the United States by an August 1 deadline, but time is short to work out a detailed package seeking exemption from punishing US tariffs, media reports said.

Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo, who held high-level talks with US officials last week, said South Korea may have to make some strategic decisions over its agriculture market as part of trade negotiations with the United States, the Yonhap News Agency said.

"I believe it's possible to reach an agreement in principle in the US tariff negotiations, and then take some time to negotiate further," the Newsis news agency quoted Yeo as telling local media reporters. "Twenty days are not enough to come up with a perfect treaty that contains every detail."

There was "considerable progress" in the discussion with US officials over cooperation in key industrial sectors as part of the trade talks, Yeo was cited as saying, but Washington needs to cut industry-specific tariffs on autos and steel, calling them "unfair" and severely undermining bilateral cooperation.

South Korea is in a race to reach a compromise trade pact in the hope of avoiding a 25 per cent tariff slapped on its exports announced by US President Donald Trump that is set to kick in on August 1, after a late start to negotiations with a new president voted in last month.

President Lee Jae-myung took office on June 4 following the ouster of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol over a failed martial law attempt. The six months of political turmoil forced Seoul to initially focus on technical discussions over Trump's demands.

Source: Reuters

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