The U.S. wants South Korea to join efforts to counter China's growth in shipbuilding via potential cooperation in the sector, a senior official from Seoul's trade ministry said on Friday.

SEOUL] South Korea’s top trade official said negotiations with the US on tariffs have entered a critical phase, after wrapping up meetings in Washington and returning to Seoul late Thursday (Jul 10).

In 2018, South Korea handed President Donald Trump the first trade victory of his administration. Under the agreement, new South Korean steel export restrictions were put in place and more U.S. automakers could export their cars to South Korea.

The July 9 deadline has come and gone with few tangible results to resolve disputes with America’s trade partners in place. The only deals that had been completed a week before the deadline were with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, and the U.S. had negotiated a tentative truce with China in May.

Trump said on Tuesday that South Korea should be paying for its own military protection, suggesting the US ally needed to pay more for the US troop presence there, a day after the tariff announcement.