Trump announces "full and complete" trade agreement with South Korea

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Washington has reached a "full and complete" trade deal with South Korea, setting 15 percent tariffs on its exports.

"We have agreed to a Tariff for South Korea of 15%. America will not be charged a Tariff," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Trump added that South Korea has agreed to invest 350 billion U.S. dollars in projects "owned and controlled by the United States," and selected by Trump himself.

He said South Korea will also purchase 100 billion dollars of liquefied natural gas or other energy products from the United States, along with an additional unspecified "large sum of money," of which the number will be announced within the next two weeks when South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visits the White House for a bilateral meeting.

"I would also like to congratulate the new President on his Electoral Success. It is also agreed that South Korea will be completely OPEN TO TRADE with the United States, and that they will accept American products including Cars and Trucks, Agriculture, etc.," Trump said.

The announcement came shortly after Trump stressed he would not extend the Aug. 1 deadline for imposing "reciprocal" tariffs on countries that fail to reach trade deals with his administration.

In early July, Trump extended the deadline to Aug. 1 following a 90-day pause on higher tariff rates, just two days before the original July 9 expiration date.

He sent letters to more than two dozen world leaders outlining country-specific tariffs set to take effect unless targeted nations reach a trade deal with the United States. The measures include a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, 35 percent on Canada, 30 percent on the EU and Mexico, and 25 percent on Japan and South Korea. Each of the targeted countries ranks among the top exporters to the United States.

On July 22, Trump said the United States had reached a trade deal with Japan, which would impose 15 percent tariffs on Japanese goods. In return, Japan would invest 550 billion dollars in the United States.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump issued an executive order imposing an additional 40 percent tariff on Brazilian goods, raising the total to 50 percent, and announced 25 percent tariffs on imports from India, starting on Aug. 1.

He also signed an order ending duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value shipments and issued a proclamation imposing 50 percent tariffs on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivatives, also effective Aug. 1. ■