US President Donald Trump said that the United States will impose a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, as he touted a “full and complete trade deal” between both countries.
“South Korea will give to the United States $350 billion dollars for investments,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that the country would buy $100 billion (€87 billion) in liquefied natural gas or other energy products.
The 15% rate is below a 25% rate that Mr Trump had threatened earlier, and was equivalent to levies determined from US trade deals with Japan and the European Union.
Mr Trump added that an additional unspecified “large sum of money” will be invested by South Korea.
“This sum will be announced within the next two weeks when the President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, comes to the White House for a Bilateral Meeting,” Mr Trump said, offering congratulations to his South Korean counterpart for his “electoral success.”
‘Overcome a major hurdle’
The meeting will be their first since Mr Lee assumed the presidency in June.
In a statement posted to Facebook, Mr Lee called the deal “the first major trade challenge” since his administration took power, adding: “We have overcome a major hurdle.”
“Through this deal, the government has eliminated uncertainty surrounding export conditions and ensured that US tariffs on our exports are either lower than or equal to those imposed on our major trade competitors,” Mr Lee said.
Mr Lee was elected in a snap vote last month following the impeachment of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his disastrous martial law declaration in December.
Now at the helm of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which is heavily reliant on exports, the trade deal marks an early victory for Mr Lee’s tenure.
“This agreement represents the convergence of US interests in revitalizing its manufacturing sector and our determination to strengthen Korean companies’ competitiveness in the American market,” Mr Lee’s statement continued.
Since returning to the White House in January, Mr Trump has imposed a sweeping 10% tariff on allies and competitors alike – with rates set to increase for dozens of economies on 1 August – alongside steeper levels on steel, aluminium and autos.
In contrast with the 15% tariff for South Korea, Mr Trump also placed 25% tariffs on imports from India and 50% on those from Brazil.
The latter rate was determined in part as retaliation for what Mr Trump has called a “witch hunt” against his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president who is currently undergoing a criminal trial.
