Despite weeks of frantic diplomacy, the chances of South Korea and the United States sealing a trade deal before next week’s Apec summit appear to be slim, with strong domestic backing enabling Seoul to resist a compromise seen as perilous to the national economy. Under a framework agreement reached in July, US President Donald Trump’s administration offered to cut tariffs on South Korean imports from 25 per cent to 15 per cent – but only if Seoul committed US$350 billion in investments into...

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