US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration has agreed to lower “reciprocal” tariffs on South Korea to 15 percent from the proposed 25 percent in return for massive investments and market opening, and hold a summit with President Lee Jae Myung at the White House in two weeks.
Trump announced the deal with South Korea in a social media post, shortly after Seoul’s Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and other top negotiators met him to finalize an agreement before Friday, when the steep blanket tariffs are set to take effect unless a deal is reached.
“We have agreed to a Tariff for South Korea of 15 percent. America will not be charged a Tariff,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Under what he called a “full and complete” trade deal, Trump said South Korea will give the United States USD350 billion for investments “owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself.”
He claimed South Korea has agreed that it will be “completely” open to trade with the US, and that it will accept American products, including cars, trucks and agricultural goods.
The deal also includes South Korea’s agreement to purchase USD100 billion of US liquefied natural gas or other energy products, and invest a large sum of money for Seoul’s investment purposes, Trump said.
“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,” he said.
Later in the day, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the auto tariff rate for South Korea will be set at 15 percent, lower than the current 25 percent, while noting that South Korea will not be treated “any worse than any other country” in terms of the envisioned tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
Steel, aluminum and copper tariffs are not included in the deal with Korea and remain “unchanged,” he said.
Touching on South Korea’s USD350 billion investment plan, the secretary said 90 percent of the profits will go to the American people. (PNA)