The United States and South Korea have reached a broad trade deal, both countries have said, following talks between their leaders.
South Korea’s presidential aide, Kim Yong-beom, said the two sides will reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 15%, as was agreed earlier this year.
South Korea will also invest $350 billion in the US, including $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding, Kim said.
US President Donald Trump, who is currently on a week-long trip in Asia, said the deal was “pretty much finalised” at a dinner following the discussions, which lasted almost two hours.
He did not give further details.
“We had a tremendous meeting today with South Korea”, Trump said of his discussions with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, adding that “a lot was determined”.
“We discussed some other things to do with national security et cetera. And I think we came to a conclusion on a lot of very important items.”
Both sides had played down the prospect of a breakthrough ahead of Wednesday’s talks – disappointing many in South Korea’s electronics, chip, and auto industries, which had been hoping for some clarity amidst the tariff chaos.
Trump had slapped a tariff rate on Seoul of 25% earlier this year, which Lee managed to negotiate down to 15%, after Seoul said it would invest $350 billion in the US and buy $100 billion worth of liquified natural gas.
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But the White House later increased its demands as part of the trade talks, with Trump pushing for cash investments in the US.
Both countries have historically been key allies, but tensions spiked after hundreds of South Koreans were detained in an immigration raid in the US last month.
Trump will next meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Thursday on the sidelines of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which is taking place in Gyeongju.
China’s foreign ministry has confirmed the meeting, which will take place in the city of Busan on Thursday, a short flight away from Gyeongju.
The US president said on Wednesday that he was “looking forward” to the meeting.
“We’ve been talking a lot over the last month and I think we’re going to have something that’s gonna be very, very satisfactory to China and to us.”
This will be the two leaders’ first face-to-face meeting since Trump assumed office in 2025 and imposed tariffs on every country in the world.
