EU TRANSPORTATION: Abertis : Moody's initiates at Baa3 Stable

The Wall Street Journal reports that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, "encouraged officials from South Korea to bring their best and final trade deal to the table during a recent meeting in Scotland, according to people familiar with the matter." If a deal or postponement isn't agreed, Seoul may be hit by a 25% tariff rate on August 1.

• According to the report, Lutnick told South Korea's trade advisers that they need to "bring it all" when they make their final trade offer to Trump. Lutnick told South Korea's team that the president "still needed to be convinced why there should be a new agreement with their country since he's already racked up trade agreements with a litany of major partners..."
• Bloomberg reports that Seoul "is pitching the US on a shipbuilding partnership as a key proposal to seal a last-minute agreement... Also on the table is increased access to South Korea’s agricultural market, as well as a fund to invest in American projects similar to an agreement Japan struck."
• KBS reports that Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol is expected to meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Thursday or Friday and "could hold separate talks" with Trump.
• ING wrote in a note: "We expect Korea to make a deal with the US before 1 August. The benchmark has been set at 15% following deals with the EU and Japan. Thus, if Korea gets a levy higher than 15%, it would cause considerable disappointment in markets in the short term."