South Korea says it has no written pact on US trade deal, Asia News
The US tariff on South Korean imports will be 15 per cent, Trump said after meeting its ministers on Wednesday, down from a threatened 25 per cent, but the US gave scarce details, apart from social media posts by him and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived home from a visit to Washington, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said the two sides had an oral negotiation because of time constraints.
"What we felt during this negotiation is that the US trade environment is fundamentally changing. This is completely different from the first Trump term," Yeo said of the deal easing tension with a top-10 trading partner and key Asian ally.
"I think we are entering a new normal era. So, although we have overcome this crisis, we cannot be relieved, because we do not know when we will face pressure from tariffs or non-tariff measures again."
The White House, which issued factsheets on trade deals with Japan and the European Union a day after striking them, has not yet released a separate one on the pact with South Korea.
Trump said South Korea would invest $350 (S$450 billion) billion in the United States in projects "owned and controlled by the United States" and selected by him.
Lutnick said 90 per cent of profits from the investments would go to the American people, while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said they would go to the US government to help repay debt.
More discussions were necessary on the investment fund's profit structure, said Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, who returned with Yeo.
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Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, also one of the negotiation team, said detailed plans for the $350-billion investment would need be established.
Wednesday's deal did not tackle most non-tariff barriers discussed during working-level talks, as well as security and foreign exchange aspects.
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According to the World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air-quality technology company IQAir, Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world and India is the world's fifth-most polluted country, down from No. 3 in 2023. Vehicular emissions contributed 51.5 per cent to Delhi's pollution. Delhi has banned 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol cars, and on July 1, banned even the refuelling of such cars. Ms Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, said: 'For India, electrification is not just an opportunity to clean up the environment, but it is also an industrial opportunity.' She noted that the government, apart from implementing manufacturing schemes needed to strengthen charging infrastructure, also needed to incentivise consumers more, citing measures like free parking for EVs. 'In India, you require industry to develop its manufacturing capacity adequately. You need a supply chain of critical minerals and battery manufacturing. But the supply chain will evolve only if the (automobile) industry perceives there is a demand in the market. Both have to go hand in hand.'
