SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo will leave for the United States on Friday for tariff talks, just days ahead of the July 9 deadline when U.S. tariffs could rise sharply. Yeo said he would consider requesting an extension of the reciprocal tariff pause, depending on the progress of negotiations with U.S. officials.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the country is working hard to strike a trade deal with the United States on impending tariffs but expressed uncertainty about when talks would be concluded.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung says that it remains unclear whether Seoul and Washington can conclude their tariff negotiations by next week’s deadline set by President Donald Trump

White House officials have suggested that the deadline could be postponed for some countries, while others could receive a letter outlining new tariffs.

By Sruthi Shankar and Nikhil Sharma (Reuters) -Wall Street stock index futures were subdued on Wednesday as investors weighed U.S. trade negotiations ahead of President Donald Trump's July 9 tariff deadline and awaited payrolls data for hints on the monetary policy path.

Stock markets diverged and the dollar rose Wednesday as US President Donald Trump ruled out a fresh delay to reciprocal tariffs.