Trump announces major deal with South Korea

US President Donald Trump made an important announcement regarding ongoing trade negotiations with South Korea. Sharing the news on his social media platform Truth, Trump announced to the public that the two countries have reached a "full and comprehensive" trade deal.

“350 BILLION DOLLARS IN INVESTMENT WILL BE MADE”

Trump used the following expressions in his post:

"Under the deal, South Korea will provide 350 billion dollars to our country for investments that will be owned and controlled by the US, which will be personally selected by me as President."

He also stated that South Korea will purchase 100 billion dollars worth of LNG (liquefied natural gas) and other energy products from the US.

SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT COMING TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Stating that the Seoul administration has made a major investment commitment in line with its own strategic goals as part of the deal, Trump noted that these details will be announced very soon.

"The amount of this will be announced within the next two weeks when South Korean President Lee Jae Myung comes to the White House for a bilateral meeting," he said.

“DOORS OPENING TO AMERICAN GOODS”

Providing information on the scope of the deal, Trump emphasized that South Korea will now be "fully" open to trade with the US. He conveyed that the two countries have agreed on the acceptance of American goods by South Korea, primarily automobiles, trucks, and agricultural products.

CUSTOMS DUTY RATE ANNOUNCED

Announcing the customs duty to be applied to South Korea under the new deal, Trump stated, "It has been decided to apply a 15 percent customs tariff for South Korea. As for the United States, no tariff will be applied."

25 PERCENT RATE HAD BEEN ANNOUNCED IN THE PAST

In a statement on April 2, Trump had announced new customs duties for trade partners and stated that the base tariff rate was 10 percent. At that time, the reciprocal customs tariff rate for South Korea was announced as 25 percent, but it was later announced that these taxes were suspended for 90 days following the reactions received.

During this process, negotiations had begun following South Korea's request to be exempted from US customs duties.

News Source: İHA