Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo, who is on a visit to Washington, said he requested the Trump administration to either exempt reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on April 2 for South Korea or at least treat the country without discrimination.

Meeting with South Korean correspondents in Washington on Friday, Cheong, during talks with U.S. Trade Representative(USTR) Jamieson Greer, said he actively explained Seoul's tariffs and nontariff barriers were significantly lifted or managed through the bilateral free trade agreement.

Cheong said he cleared up misconceptions about Seoul's tariffs on U.S. goods, which are practically zero percent under the bilateral FTA, after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed South Korea's average tariffs are four times the reverse.

The minister said the U.S. side was aware of the near zero-percent tariffs, where the two sides agreed to seek ways for a reasonable and mutually reciprocal advancement through continued working-level consultations on the matter.

Cheong also emphasized the need for the U.S. to exempt the 25-percent steel and aluminum import tariffs for South Korean goods after they took effect for all imports Wednesday.

The minister stressed that South Korean imports pose no threat to the U.S. industrial security and that South Korean business investments in America are expected to help gradually ease U.S. concern over trade imbalance.