Seoul agrees multibillion dollar investment as Trump eases US tariffs
Donald Trump, United States president, has declared that Washington and Seoul have “pretty much finalised” their long negotiated trade deal, ending months of tense talks that unsettled businesses across both countries.
Trump and Lee Jae Myung, South Korean president, held nearly two hours of discussions during a summit in Gyeongju on Wednesday before confirming that the allies had reached common ground. The talks had been expected to yield little progress but officials said a breakthrough came “dramatically” on the day.
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Under the agreement, tariff rates that Trump imposed on South Korean imports earlier this year will fall from 25 per cent to 15 per cent. In exchange, Seoul has committed to a massive 350 billion dollar investment push into the United States.
Kim Yong beom, a senior aide to Lee, said South Korea would provide 200 billion dollars in cash investment paid over several years, with a 20 billion dollar annual cap, and channel a further 150 billion dollars into America’s shipbuilding industry. “We only pursue commercially viable projects,” Kim added.
Profits from those investments will be split equally until the initial spending is recovered, according to Korean officials. Howard Lutnick, United States commerce secretary, is expected to lead a joint committee that will decide where the money goes. The deal must still be approved by South Korea’s parliament.
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Trump struck an upbeat tone at a dinner with Lee and other regional leaders. “We had a tremendous meeting today with South Korea,” he said. “A lot was determined. We came to a conclusion on a lot of very important items.”
Business interests in Seoul had been hoping for clarity after months of uncertainty and fast changing tariff demands from Washington. Korean electronics and car exporters have been among the hardest hit.
The relationship between the allies has also been strained by a recent immigration sweep in the United States that saw hundreds of South Koreans detained. Both governments have insisted their security partnership remains strong.
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The summit came just hours after North Korea launched another nuclear capable cruise missile, a reminder of the security challenges that underpin trade negotiations in the region. Trump received a ceremonial welcome as he arrived from Japan, where he continued his push for new trading arrangements.
Attention now turns to his meeting with Xi Jinping, China president, scheduled for Thursday in Busan. It will be the two leaders first face to face encounter since Trump entered the White House in 2025 and ordered sweeping tariffs on countries around the world.
“We have been talking a lot over the last month,” Trump said. “I think we are going to have something that is going to be very very satisfactory to China and to us.”
