President Trump on Wednesday announced the United States had struck a trade deal with South Korea ahead of his Aug. 1 tariff deadline, putting 15 percent tariffs on goods from there.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that South Korea will make $350 billion in investments in the U.S. and purchase $100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other products.
“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. I would also like to congratulate the new President on his Electoral Success,” Trump said in his post. “It is also agreed that South Korea will be completely OPEN TO TRADE with the United States, and that they will accept American product including Cars and Trucks, Agriculture, etc.”
The new deal is down from the 25 percent tariff Trump had threatened to impose.
The president has extended deadlines on tariffs several times throughout his second term to give trading partners time to negotiate deals. But on Wednesday, he indicated there would be no extensions of the deadline at the end of the week.
“The August first deadline is the August first deadline — It stands strong, and will not be extended. A big day for America!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump has sent letters to several countries telling them of tariff rates they will face to export their goods into the U.S. starting Aug. 1. Those include a 25 percent tariff on India, a 35 percent tariff on Bangladesh and a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, among others.
The White House has also struck deals with a handful of other countries to set lower tariff rates, including with Japan, the European Union, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.
Critics argue that the details of those agreements have not been fully fleshed out, and that while the tariffs negotiated are lower than Trump’s initial threat, they are still higher than before he took office.
