South Korea's trade minister said talks with the EU produced a positive consensus on duty-free steel import quotas. The EU will from July 1 cut annual duty-free steel imports to 18.35 mln t from 33.82 mln t (a 46% reduction) and raise tariffs on above-quota steel to 50% from 25%. Seoul is negotiating to maximize its allocation; its current duty-free quota is about 2.58 mln t. The EU has pledged any cut to South Korea's allocation will be smaller than 46% but gave no figure. The minister said Sou

Oman's foreign ministry said the Sultan met today with Iran's parliament speaker Ghalibaf and Iranian foreign minister Araghchi; they discussed progress in Iran–U.S. negotiations.

South Korean and Japanese equities plunged after a sudden reversal in global AI sentiment and macro developments. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics fell 7.4% and SK Hynix dropped 10.1% intraday; the two memory-chip makers account for roughly half of KOSPI market capitalization. KOSPI slid more than 9% intraday and triggered a 20-minute trading halt — the fourth such pause this year. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell over 3%, led by SoftBank and Kioxia, down about 10% and 14% respectively. Both markets had recently hit multiple record highs on AI optimism, progress in US–Iran talks and expectations of BOJ tightening; analysts warn the chip names’ rapid run-up has left valuations elevated and exposed to semiconductor cyclical risk.