Trump: S. Korea will pay 15% tariff under new trade agreement
His social media post says the US will impose a 15-percent tariff on South Korean imports. That's the same rate the US will charge Japan and the EU.
Trump had earlier threatened to slap South Korea with a 25-percent levy from August 1.
South Korea will invest 350 billion dollars in the US. Trump says the amount will be owned and controlled by the US and the projects selected by him.
The agreement also calls for South Korea to purchase 100 billion dollars of liquefied natural gas or other energy products.
Trump says the country will accept American products including cars, trucks and agricultural goods. He stressed that the deal will expand South Korea's imports from the US.
South Korea's presidential office held an emergency news conference on Thursday morning. Officials said the tariffs on its semiconductors and pharmaceuticals are not expected to put the products at a disadvantage to those of other nations.
The office also said the two sides agreed to refrain from further opening South Korea's beef and rice markets.
President Lee Jae-myung wrote in a social media post that, "We have cleared a major hurdle."
He said he has established an environment in which his country can compete with major nations in equal or advantageous conditions.
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