Latest news with #SouthKorea-US
Hans India
12 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
President Lee urges follow-up measures for South Korea-US trade deal
Seoul: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged the government on Thursday to closely monitor public concerns over the trade deal with the United States (US) and prepare follow-up measures to protect the nation's core interests. Lee made the call after Seoul clinched a trade deal with Washington to lower the reciprocal and auto-specific tariffs from the initial 25 per cent to 15 per cent in exchange for the $350 billion investment pledge and $100 billion US energy purchases, Yonhap News Agency reported. "It is expected to further bolster South Korea-US economic cooperation and the alliance," Lee said during a meeting with senior aides and secretaries. "Although we have overcome a big mountain, the reorganisation of the global trade order is expected to accelerate." With the deal concluded, Lee urged the government to address structural challenges facing the domestic economy by implementing measures to boost consumption and diversify export markets. "I want relevant ministries to closely monitor public concerns and thoroughly prepare follow-up measures to safeguard our core national interests," he said. South Korea avoided additional US market access demands in such sensitive sectors as beef and rice, Seoul officials said, but the new tariffs, set to take effect on Friday, have raised concerns over the export-reliant economy amid sagging domestic demand. Earlier in the day, the two nations announced a bilateral trade agreement that sets a 15 per cent tariff on South Korean exports to the US against the initially expected 25 per cent, and includes a pledge for $350 billion in South Korean investment in the US shipbuilding, energy and other sectors. The deal also applied the 15 per cent tariffs on automobiles, down from the current 25 per cent, while South Korea avoided additional US market access demands in such sensitive sectors as beef and rice. The new arrangement is set to take effect Friday (US time). "We have overcome a significant hurdle," President Lee Jae Myung said in his Facebook post. "The agreement eliminates uncertainty in our export environment and creates conditions to compete on equal or better terms with major countries."
Korea Herald
17 hours ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
What will be discussed in the first Lee-Trump summit?
US President Donald Trump on Thursday mentioned that his first summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung would take place 'within the next two weeks' in Washington. The remark, via Truth Social, was included in Trump's announcement that Washington and Seoul reached a trade deal in which the US will impose 15 percent tariffs on South Korea. If the summit between Trump and Lee takes place in the timeframe the US president mentioned, the two leaders would likely discuss the follow-up of the trade deal. Trump, for instance, mentioned that 'South Korea has agreed to invest a large sum of money for their Investment purposes' and that the figure would be announced when Lee visits the White House. Another topic is likely to be a potential change in the role of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea amid Washington's shifting security priorities. Seoul officials have repeatedly said that they have yet to hold any discussions on the possibility of withdrawing or downsizing USFK. The Trump administration has also been increasing pressure on Seoul to shoulder more defense costs in maintaining USFK on the peninsula. In response, Seoul officials reiterated the need to uphold the latest South Korea-US defense cost-sharing deal for the 2026-2030 period, signed during the previous Joe Biden administration. Seoul is to pay 1.52 trillion won ($1.1 billion) next year for the stationing of USFK here, under the 12th Special Measures Agreement signed with Washington. The figure is up 1.4 trillion won this year. When asked about the summit mentioned by Trump, Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Kim Yong-beom told reporters that details of the potential meeting would be arranged through diplomatic channels. Seoul's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday. Though Lee envisioned his first in-person meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit held in Canada last month, it failed to take place as Trump abruptly returned to Washington due to the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Korea Herald
20 hours ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
DP embraces, PPP shows concerns for new tariff deal
The Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday welcomed the country's trade deal to set a 15 percent tariff with the United States in exchange for $450 billion of South Korean investment in the US and the purchase of American liquefied natural gas and other energy products. Rep. Kim Byung-kee, the floor leader of the ruling party, thanked President Lee Jae Myung and the government for 'meaningful results' that meet people's expectations, adding that he would like to extend his gratitude to those in the business sector for joining forces with the government. 'Through this agreement, industrial cooperation between South Korea and the United States will become stronger. The South Korea-US alliance will become even more solid,' Kim said during a meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. 'It is time for the National Assembly to respond. The Democratic Party will make legislative measures to strengthen the competitiveness of Korean companies, diversify export markets and more,' he added. Rep. Park Chan-dae, former floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party and a candidate for the party's leadership race, also praised the tariff agreement as 'a hard-won achievement that put the national interest above all else even under difficult circumstances.' 'I hope that this agreement will not only provide solutions for tariff-related issues but also serve as a new turning point for strengthening the Korea-US alliance and promoting cooperation between the two countries,' said Park in an online post on his social media. The main opposition People Power Party's interim leader Song Eon-seog, meanwhile, gave a more toned-down reaction. While he called the bilateral agreement between the two countries appropriate, as it is on par with that of the European Union and Japan, Song also expressed concerns over the specific provisions of the tariff deal. "Under the bilateral free trade agreement with the US, South Korean automobiles have enjoyed a zero tariff rate, whereas Japan was subject to a two-percent tariff. If the same 15 percent tariff rate is now applied to both countries, Japanese automobiles might become more competitive, which could, in effect, result in a disadvantage for Korean automakers,' Song said in a meeting held at the National Assembly on Thursday morning. The interim leader also urged clarification regarding the trade deal in the agriculture sector. 'The government stated that there will be no further opening for rice and beef markets. But US President Donald Trump's message mentioned how South Korea will accept American products, including agricultural goods,' he said. 'The government must clarify whether this means there will be a significant increase in imports of other grains or fruits except rice and beef, or whether President Trump's remarks were simply political rhetoric,' Song added.
Korea Herald
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, US defense chiefs reaffirm alliance, vow deeper ties in shipbuilding
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back held his first phone call with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday, during which the two agreed to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korean threats and enhance cooperation in the shipbuilding industry, according to Seoul's Defense Ministry. Ahn, who took office on July 25, said he feels a strong sense of responsibility as the first defense minister under the new administration. He emphasized the importance of advancing the achievements of the South Korea-US alliance over the past 70 years. 'The alliance between South Korea and the United States is a blood-forged bond and an inseparable relationship, like two wheels of a cart,' Ahn said, according to the ministry. He added that he looks forward to working closely with Hegseth to develop the relationship into a 'future-oriented comprehensive strategic alliance.' According to the ministry, Secretary Hegseth reaffirmed the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of South Korea. The two ministers agreed to maintain close coordination and deepen extended deterrence cooperation in response to North Korea's evolving threats, including its military ties with Russia. They also committed to continuing discussions on modernizing the alliance in a mutually beneficial way in light of the changing regional security environment, while expanding bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding, the maintenance, repair and overhaul of defense equipment, and advanced science and technology. The two expressed hope to meet in person at the earliest possible date.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Hegseth voices desire to ensure 'strategically sustainable' S. Korea-US alliance: Pentagon
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed his desire to ensure that the South Korea-US alliance is "strategically sustainable" and the allies' defense posture contributes to deterrence against "shared threats" as he spoke by phone with his South Korean counterpart on Wednesday, the Pentagon said. Hegseth had the first phone talks with Seoul's Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back since Ahn's inauguration last week, amid expectations that the Trump administration will request Asian allies to raise their defense spending and undertake greater security burden in the face of an increasingly assertive China. "The secretary expressed his desire to work together to ensure that the US-ROK Alliance is strategically sustainable and that our combined posture on the (Korean) Peninsula credibly contributes to deterrence against shared threats," the Pentagon said in a readout. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. "The secretary stressed the need for continuing close consultations, and looks forward to meeting Minister Ahn in person during the upcoming Security Consultative Meeting," it added, referring to the annual defense ministerial talks expected to take place in Seoul this fall. The call came as Seoul and Washington face a series of alliance cooperation issues, including joint efforts to counter North Korea's advancing nuclear and ballistic missile threats and the role of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea amid speculation that Washington might seek to align the bilateral alliance with the Trump administration's security priorities. The Pentagon has been working on crafting its National Defense Strategy with a focus on increasing allies' "burden sharing" and deterring what it calls the "pacing threat" from China. (Yonhap)
