Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Paik Un-gyu says the ongoing negotiations with the U.S. on revising the bilateral free trade agreement(FTA) and the issue of crisis-stricken General Motors(GM) Korea are related.

Paik said in a news briefing in Sejong City on Monday that the FTA talks will inevitably have a significant impact on GM’s business in South Korea. 

While saying the GM issue cannot be addressed at the trade talks, he said it does have an influence on the negotiations as the talks actively deal with the overall automobile industry. 

Paik stressed the need to significantly change South Korea’s export strategies in the face of U.S. protectionist measures. He said President Donald Trump had voiced protectionist policies since his campaign period and likely won’t stop now.