US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that US has reached a trade deal with South Korea. “We did, we did. We did reach a deal,” Trump said when asked whether an agreement had been made, ahead of a dinner hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
“We made our deal, pretty much finalised it,” he added later, without offering further details.
Without the agreement, South Korean car and steel manufacturers would face US tariffs of 25% instead of the 15% set in July, placing them at a disadvantage compared to Japanese competitors, who pay 15% under Tokyo’s trade deal with the United States.
The Trump-Lee summit took place during the US president’s three-nation tour of Asia, which began in Malaysia with a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
South Korean officials noted that the two countries remain “sharply” divided over the cash portion of a $350 billion investment package, as Seoul has sought to reduce its share by increasing the proportion of loans and loan guarantees.
Meanwhile, Trump said on Wednesday he expected a “lot of problems” to be solved with Xi Jinping in their talks on the trade war. “I think we’re going to have a great meeting with President Xi of China, and a lot of problems are going to be solved,” Trump said on his way to South Korea, where he is set to meet Xi Jinping.
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he doesn’t expect Trump’s threat of 100% extra tariffs on China to actually take effect on November 1. He also said he believes China will start buying US soybeans again and delay its export limits on rare earth minerals for a year.