The government is making an all-out effort to strike a trade deal with the United States as the August 1 deadline for tariff negotiations approaches. 

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo reportedly visited Scotland on Monday to meet with U.S. officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump on his trip to Britain. 

Kim and Yeo held negotiations with Lutnick in Washington on Thursday last week and at his residence in New York the following day. 

They then boarded a flight to Scotland after learning that Lutnick was heading there to accompany Trump. 

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun plan to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, the eve of the deadline.

Separately, the industry and trade ministers reportedly plan to hold as many meetings as possible with Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in an effort to narrow the differences between the two sides before Friday.