US President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with South Korea, the last agreement to be revealed before the deadline imposed on dozens of countries.
According to the “full and complete” commercial deal, South Korean goods will be subject to a 15 percent tariff, while American exports will not face duties, Trump said on the social truth platform on Wednesday amid a set of trade -related ads that also included new American duties on Brazil and India.
US officials and southern Koreans confirmed that the average of 15 percent will apply to vehicles, which is the victory in the automotive industry in East Asia, which was subject to a 25 percent Trump tariff for vehicles and car parts.
Seoul said she rejected greater requests to reach the United States to the rice and beef markets, a political fraught issue that attracted fierce resistance from South Korean farmers.
But in a blow to the South Korean steel industry, the sixth largest US Trade Minister Howard Lootnick said that the agreement did not reduce the current customs tariff on steel, aluminum and copper.
Trump said South Korea will also contribute $ 350 billion for “owned and controlled” investments by the United States and buy $ 100 billion in LNG and other energy products.
Trump said that the East Asian State also agreed to invest a “large amount” of money for its own investment purposes, with the announcement of the amount “next two weeks” during the visit of South Korean President Lee Jay Meong to the White House.
“It was also agreed that South Korea will be completely open to trading with the United States, and that they will accept the American product including cars, trucks, agriculture, etc.”
Lee, who took office in June after a period of leadership for a period of months driven by the announcement of former President Yun Suk Yiol for combat rulings, said that the agreement “canceled the uncertainty” and made sure that South Korea will pay a tariff at equal levels or less than its competitors.
“The key is not to follow the benefits unilaterally, but to extract useful results for the two parties,” Lee said in a post on Facebook.
“This agreement is the result of the alignment of American interests in stimulating its manufacturing industry and our determination to expand the competitiveness of our companies in the American market. Through this, we expect industrial cooperation between Korea and the United States more enhanced, and the Korea alliance and the United States will become more solid.”
He described me $ 350 billion in Trump’s investments as a “fund” that would support the entry of South Korean companies to the United States.
He told me that investments will be directed to the industries where South Korea has “strengths”, such as shipbuilding, semiconductor, secondary batteries, biotechnology and energy.
Kathleen Oh, head of economists in Korea in Morgan Stanley, described the “worst that has been avoided issue”.
“We see the details of the deal widely positive, in line with our basic issue,” Ohh said in a note.
KOSPI from South Korea rose about 0.4 percent in early trading on Thursday, before it decreased by approximately 0.9 percent in the morning.
The shares of Hyundai Motor and KIA listed in South Korea fell sharply, as the country’s largest car manufacturer decreased by 3.5 percent and 6 percent, respectively, as of 11 am local time (02:00 GMT).
South Korea, the sixth largest commercial partner in the United States, faced a 25 percent general tariff starting from August 1 if it did not reach a deal, as well as separate duties on steel, aluminum, cars and car parts.
South Korea’s exports were struggled under Trump’s tariff, which led to the withdrawal of its trade -dependent economy.
Exports, which represented more than 40 percent of the total local products (GDP), decreased by 0.03 per cent year on the first half of 2025, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data.
The fourth largest economy in Asia is expected to grow by 0.8 percent in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, whose weakest performance will be since 2020, when Covid-19 stopped much economic activity.
Trump has so far announced deals with seven commercial partners-the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines-in addition to a 90-day trade truce with China.
In an interview with Fox News late on Wednesday, Lootnick said that the United States had also reached agreements with Cambodia and Thailand.
Not provided more details.
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