S. Korea, U.S. reach trade deal; S. Korea to face 15% 'reciprocal' tariffs, invest US$ 350 bil. in U.S.

Published on: 2025/07/31 11:37

S. Korea, U.S. reach trade deal; S. Korea to face 15% 'reciprocal' tariffs, invest US$ 350 bil. in U.S.
Sentences Mode

South Korea and the United States have struck a full trade deal, lowering the "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korean exports to 15 percent.

President Donald Trump met with key Korean officials in Washington to finalize the agreement, which includes hundreds of billions of dollars in South Korean investment.

Byeon Ye-young starts us off.

South Korea and the U.S. have come to a complete trade deal that will see South Korea charged 15% tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol , Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan , and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, local time.

They finalized a trade deal just two days before the 25% U.S. "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korea were to come into effect on August 1st.

Along with the 15% tariffs, South Korea will invest 350 billion dollars for investments owned and controlled by the United States, which will be selected by Trump himself.

Of that investment, 150 billion dollars will be used for cooperation in the shipbuilding industry, and 200 billion dollars will be invested in other sectors such as semiconductors, nuclear energy, and biotechnology.

The U.S. Department of Commerce also stated that the United States will hold 90% of the profits from South Korea's investment fund in the U.S.

South Korea will also purchase 100 billion dollars of LNG, or other energy products and will further open its market to American products including cars and agriculture.

But South Korea's domestic rice and beef markets will not be further opened.

And tariffs on automobiles have also been reduced to 15%.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also stated that tariffs on South Korean semiconductors have been set at levels that are not less favorable than those applied to other countries.

President Lee Jae Myung is set to visit the White House in two weeks for a bilateral meeting.

Even though a full trade deal was reached, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol's meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will take place as scheduled on Thursday.

Byeon Ye-young, Arirang News.

Arirang news https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=285784

Comments

You must be logged in to add a comment.