The deal will set American tariffs on Korean goods at 15 percent. South Korea is committed to investing $350 billion in the United States.
The United States and South Korea finalized the terms of a major trade agreement on Oct. 29 as U.S. President Donald Trump headed toward the final hours of his Asian tour on the Korean Peninsula.
On Oct. 29, South Korea finalized a bilateral trade agreement originally announced by Trump in July. The new deal will set U.S. tariffs on Korean goods at 15 percent, and Seoul will invest $350 billion in the United States.
The latest announcement came after Trump’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in South Korea’s southeastern city of Gyeongju, following nearly three months of intense negotiations.
Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, told reporters during a press briefing on Oct. 29 that the $350 billion pledge includes $150 billion for shipbuilding investments. The annual investment cap will be set at $20 billion, he noted.
Trump provided more details on these investments in a post on Truth Social.
“South Korea will be building its Nuclear Powered Submarine in the Philadelphia Shipyards, right here in the good ol’ U.S.A.,” Trump wrote. “Shipbuilding in our Country will soon be making a BIG COMEBACK.”
Under the agreement, U.S. tariffs on Korean products will fall to 15 percent from 25 percent as agreed in the initial deal announced in July. Tariffs on Korean cars will also be set at 15 percent.
Pharmaceutical and lumber products will be granted Most Favored Nation treatment, while airplane parts, generic pharmaceuticals, and certain natural resources will be exempt from U.S. tariffs.
In a statement released on Oct. 29, the White House stated that the state visit to South Korea “underscored America’s prominent role as the preeminent Pacific power.”
The statement notes that South Korea is committed to spending billions of dollars with several U.S. companies. The largest planned expenditure is the purchase of $36.2 billion worth of aircraft from Boeing and $13.7 billion worth of GE Aerospace engines by passenger carrier Korean Air, according to the statement.
Trump stated in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. ally also agreed to purchase “vast quantities” of American oil and natural gas.
He said that oil and natural gas “investments into our Country by wealthy South Korean Companies and Businessmen will exceed 600 Billion Dollars.”
By Austin Alonzo and Joseph Lord
