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Trump encouraged by talk of 'a level playing field' on trade with South Korea

South Korea is a longstanding American ally, but President Donald Trump has spoken harshly about U.S. trade imbalances and threatened to tear up the bilateral trade pact. "We will do more to remove barriers to reciprocal trade and market access," Trump said, adding that the two leaders had talked about the thorny trade areas of steel and autos. Trump said he was encouraged by South Korea's President Moon Jae-in's assurances that he would seek a level playing field for American workers and businesses, particularly automakers. A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to work together to reduce over supply of basic materials such as steel and non-tariff barriers. It also said Trump had accepted an invitation from Moon to visit South Korea this year. Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said it was unwise for Trump to air the trade issue so publicly. "Public complaints by Trump about unfair trade and inadequate defense spending provide opportunities for China and North Korea to drive a wedge between the allies," she said. The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since the U.S.-Korea free trade pact known as KORUS took effect in 2012. The agreement was forecast to boost U.S. exports by $10 billion a year, but in 2016 they were $3 billion lower than in 2011. At the start of Friday's talks, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the largest component of the deficit was automotive trade and many non-tariff barriers to U.S. auto exports to South Korea remained. "I think the way to address it is to deal product by product with what we can do to change the export side and what we can do to reduce the bad imports side," he said. Ross said later on Friday that some progress had been made in the talks. The current pact was agreed to despite protests by supporters of Moon, who was then in opposition. But analysts have suggested that given the need to preserve a unified front in the face of a hostile North Korea, there could be compromise on both sides to resolve issues. (By David Brunnstrom and Lisa Lambert. Additional reporting by Fatima Bhojani, Roberta Rampton, Tim Ahmann, David Chance, David Lawder and Eric Beech; Editing by Bill Trott and Andrew Hay) Related Video: Image Credit: Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters Government/Legal Genesis Hyundai Kia trade

2021 Kia Sportage Review | Sporty-ish value

The 2021 Kia Sportage picks up right where last year's mid-cycle refresh left off, with some modest improvements to design and technological updates that make driving easier and safer. An often overlooked vehicle in the increasingly crowded compact crossover segment, the Sportage provides comfort and value on a budget, but doesn’t quite match the style, fuel economy or cargo space of its competitors, many of which have been recently revamped as all-new models. Still, with the features available for the price, itÂ’s worth a test drive if youÂ’re looking at vehicles like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape or Toyota RAV4. You just might find the Sportage to be the right fit for you and your budget, and with its roomy backseat — at the expense of cargo volume — it might be the right fit, literally, for you and your passengers. Finally, if you like the packaging of the Sportage, but are looking to save some money up front, as well as at the pump, it might be worth taking a look at the similarly sized Kia Seltos. YouÂ’d be giving up some power and nicer interior materials, but would be getting a more efficient and arguably more stylish Kia for about $2,000 less. What's new for 2021? The 2021 Kia Sportage builds upon the previous model yearÂ’s mid-cycle refresh with an update to S trim level offerings. The new Nightfall Edition and Nightfall Edition Premium appearance packages replace the S Sunroof and Premium Package, respectively. Nightfall gets unique 18-inch wheels with blacked-out center caps, and adds piano black trim on the front bumper, side sills, front and rear skid plates, and fog lights. It also gets unique Sportage badging on the liftgate. The LX, EX and SX Turbo trims remain unchanged. What's the Sportage interior and in-car technology like? The Sportage's interior styling is straightforward and functional. ThereÂ’s not much to visually break up the square footage of plastic, but the materials donÂ’t scream “cheap.” In fact, its superior materials quality to the Seltos is one area that justifies the Sportage's higher price. The leather seating in the SX Turbo trim looks and feels quite nice, especially when you consider those front seats are heated and, optionally, ventilated. The seating position is upright for a good view of the road, and the center stack tilts slightly toward the left to give a sense of ergonomic care to the driver.

2021 Kia Sorento engines, other details revealed before Geneva debut

The 2021 Kia Sorento was shown in official photos a few days ago, but we were missing all of the meaty details. Today, Kia has begun the process of parceling this information out, feeding us powertrain information and a few other interesting features of note. In North America, we can expect at least two engine options: a hybrid and a traditional gasoline-only engine. The latter is slated to be ready at launch — itÂ’ll consist of a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, matched with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. We imagine itÂ’s the same powertrain that we got a taste of in a pre-production Sonata N-Line not too long ago. In the Sorento, output is 277 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. ThatÂ’s the same amount of torque as Hyundai said the Sonata N-Line will have, but itÂ’s down 13 horsepower compared to the semi-performance sedan. The hybrid powertrain, which is confirmed for the North American market, consists of a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and single electric motor. Combined output amounts to 227 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Kia promises low emissions with high levels of performance, and with those power figures, we imagine the Sorento Hybrid wonÂ’t be a total bore to drive. ThatÂ’s it so far as North America powertrain news is concerned for now, but Kia promised more to come — weÂ’re told to expect additional gasoline engine options and “a powerful new plug-in hybrid variant.” Kia teased out a few details about the new platform this Sorento is riding on, too. The wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than before, but the vehicleÂ’s overall length is only extended by 0.4 inch. Kia claims better packaging strategies will give the Sorento “class-leading cargo space.” The new platform also allows Kia to put the hybridÂ’s battery pack underneath the floor, claiming it has zero impact on passenger or cargo space. There were a few easter eggs at the end of KiaÂ’s release, too. The Sorento will be the first Kia to feature the companyÂ’s new “multi-collision brake system” that automatically applies the brakes when the airbags have been deployed after the initial collision. It also has a new “remote smartphone surround view monitor.” This will allow folks to look at the vehicleÂ’s surroundings on their smartphone through an app, in addition to seeing it in the infotainment screen.