South Korea to face 15 per cent US tariff; President Lee to visit Washington in 2 weeks

A landmark agreement slashes US tariffs on Korean goods in return for a massive $350 billion South Korean investment in American industries.

A man watches a television screen showing a live broadcast of South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung speaking during a press conference to mark his first 30 days in office, at a train station in Seoul on July 3, 2025. — AFP/ANN Photo

SEOUL — South Korea and the United States struck a massive deal to lower the US tariff on its imports from South Korea to 15 per cent from 25 per cent, in exchange for US$350 billion of South Korean investment in the US, leaders of the two countries said Thursday.

"We’ve overcome a major hurdle," President Lee Jae Myung noted on his Facebook Thursday as he confirmed the deal, saying it had removed uncertainties on Korea’s export front.

"Despite the tight deadline and challenging conditions, the government dealt with the negotiations, considering our national interest the top priority," Lee also said.

"By adjusting US tariffs on par with or below those of our major export competitors, we have created an environment in which we can compete on equal or superior terms with them."

Kim Yong-beom, director of national policy at the presidential office, said in a briefing Thursday that the tariff cut to 15 per cent would also be applied to cars, freeing South Korea-made automobiles from Trump’s 25 per cent sector-specific tariffs.

Kim added South Korean semiconductor chips and biopharmaceutical products will also be under the most-favoured-nation treatment.

As for the $350 billion investment vehicle between the two countries, the presidential office said it would focus on supporting South Korean companies dedicated to shipbuilidng, chipmaking, secondary batteries, biotechnologies and energy.

Lee said the newly established fund would "lay the foundations for ties in strategic industries of the two countries," adding that a fund amounting to $150 billion would focus solely on the shipbuilding sector.

Meanwhile, Trump described the deal on his Truth Social media channel as "full and complete." He added that South Korea would purchase US energy, including liquefied natural gas, and import more US cars, trucks and agricultural goods, though there was no mention of US cars in Lee’s statement or the presidential press briefings.

Trump also said that the South Korean president will visit the White House within the next two weeks for a bilateral meeting, adding that he would "like to congratulate the new president on his electoral success."

Lee’s aide Kim said the timing of Lee’s visit to the White House was being coordinated through diplomatic channels of the two countries. — THE KOREA HERALD