A senior South Korean diplomatic official has called on the U.S. to pursue a tariff agreement that promotes trade and deepens manufacturing cooperation, rather than restricts bilateral commerce.

Ahn Se-ryeong, economic minister at the South Korean embassy in Washington, said addressing nontariff barriers and fostering industrial collaboration are essential to sustainably reducing the U.S. trade deficit.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Korea Economic Institute in Washington on Monday, she argued that South Korea is uniquely positioned to support U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision of revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, particularly in semiconductors and shipbuilding, an approach she dubbed “ships and chips.”

To that end, she said Seoul and Washington plan to accelerate substantial discussions over the next two weeks to identify a viable landing zone for agreement.

She also underscored the need to ease product-specific tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, warning that they could affect more than half of South Korea’s exports to the U.S.

The comments come as Seoul and Washington ramp up negotiations ahead of Trump’s August 1 deadline for imposing reciprocal tariffs.