{"id":306163,"date":"2025-07-31T08:47:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T08:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/306163\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T08:47:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T08:47:19","slug":"s-korea-us-agree-to-15-tariff-rate-shipbuilding-central-to-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/306163\/","title":{"rendered":"S. Korea, US agree to 15% tariff rate; shipbuilding central to deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korea and the United States have reached a trade agreement setting the new US tariff rate at 15%, down from the previously announced 25%<\/a>, with revitalizing the US shipbuilding sector at the center of the agenda.<\/p>\n

Offering relief to Seoul under mounting pressure to finalize a deal ahead of the US-imposed Aug. 1 deadline, Washington has also agreed to reduce tariffs on South Korea-made automobiles<\/a> to 15% from 25%<\/a>, Kim Yong-beom, South Korea\u2019s presidential chief of staff for policy, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The trade deal package excludes any further opening of South Korea\u2019s rice and livestock markets<\/a>, a move that would mitigate domestic backlash, particularly from farmers and civic groups wary of US imports.<\/p>\n

Koo Yoon-cheol, South Korean deputy prime minister and chief negotiator in the trade talks, said the country’s committment to revitalizing the US shipbuilding industry was crucial in securing the tariff reduction that aligns with the rates to be applied to Japan and the European Union.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Our commitment to) the MASGA project made the greatest contribution to reaching the trade deal,\u201d Koo told at a press briefing held in the South Korean embassy in Washington DC on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

MASGA is short for Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.<\/p>\n

South Korea’s initiatives for the MASGA project includes building shipyards in the US, training shipbuilding employees, strengthening the US supply chains in the shipbuilding industry and expanding maintenance and repair operations.<\/p>\n

“President Trump expressed high regard for South Korea\u2019s shipbuilding capabilities<\/a> and asked us to begin vessel construction in the US as soon as possible, said Koo, who also serves as South Korean finance minister.<\/p>\n

Asia’s No. 4 economy is home to the world’s leading shipbuilders, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Hanwha Ocean Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co.\u00a0<\/p>\n

$350 BILLION INVESTMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the trade agreement, South Korea is committed to invest $350 billion in the US, including creating a $150 billion shipbuilding fund. <\/p>\n

The remaining $200 billion will be directed toward semiconductor, nuclear energy, secondary battery and biotech sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deal is that South Korea will give the US $350 billion for investments owned by controlled by the US, and selected by myself, as president,\u201d US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdditionally, South Korea will purchase $100 billion worth of LNG or other energy products (from the US) and further, South Korea has agreed to invest a large sum of money for their investment purposes,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n

\"Koo
\nKoo Yoon-cheol, South Korean deputy prime minister, speaks at a press briefing on Washington DC on July 30<\/p>\n

Details of the deal will be announced within the next two weeks in a bilateral meeting at the White House in Washington, Trump said. <\/p>\n

South Korea’s presidential office said the timing of their summit has yet been determined. The two leaders have yet to hold a bilateral meeting.<\/a><\/p>\n

US MAINTAINS 50% TARIFFS ON STEEL<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, Washington did not roll back its 50% tariff on steel imports imposed in April. South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Washington remained steadfast in maintaining the tariff rate.<\/p>\n

South Korean negotiators acknowledged the limited timeframe<\/a> posed challenges during the trade talks. <\/p>\n

But they said the government approached the negotiations to ensure any concessions remain within its tolerable range with the principle of securing a mutually beneficial outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegarding forthcoming (US) tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, we will be treated on equal footing with other countries,\u201d Kim told reporters.<\/p>\n

\"In
\nIn March, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun (left) announced a plan to invest $21 billion in the US<\/p>\n

To underscore South Korea’s commitment to investing in the US, heads of the country’s top conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor Group and Hanwha Group, flew to Washington DC<\/a> this week and joined government negotiators in the talks.<\/p>\n

The three business groups have already announced heavy investment plans in the US across semiconductor, automobile, steel and shipbuilding sectors. If was not disclosed how much additional investments they may have offered during the latest negotiation.<\/p>\n

Regarding South Korea’s agreement to invest $350 billion in the US, Deputy Prime Minister Kim said that the US government has committed to acquiring assets related to their investment if they fail to attract new buyers, to minimize investment risks.<\/p>\n

“The funds will be directed toward projects that are commercially viable and reasonably sound,\u201d Kim noted.<\/p>\n

Write to<\/strong> Sangeun Lucia Lee and Shin-Young Park at selee@hankyung.com<\/a>
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South Korea and the United States have reached a trade agreement setting the new US tariff rate at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-306163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-united-states","9":"tag-us","10":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114946981441702197","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}