The Commerce Secretary said tariffs on aircraft parts would also be removed and that the White House would “eliminate” Korea’s reciprocal tariffs.
US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, said on the first Monday of this month that… USA Some of the tariffs stipulated in the agreement with South KoreaIncluding the car tariff to 15% as of this date.
“We are also eliminating tariffs on aircraft parts and will remove the Korea reciprocal price to be equal to the Korean price. Japan And who European Union“This was stated by Lutnick on the official account of the Ministry of Commerce.
According to the minister, Korea’s commitment to US investments strengthens the economic partnership, as well as jobs and national industry. “We are also grateful for the deep trust between our two countries. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Seoul to build a stronger and more prosperous future for both countries,” he added.
The announcement comes about a month after South Korea, on October 29, during Trump’s visit to the country, issued a consensus on the details of a trade agreement with the United States, ensuring concessions on the amount of money it would need to invest in American territory.
Kim Young-beom, President Lee Jae-myung’s chief of staff, announced the agreement after Trump and the South Korean leader met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
The US agreement with South Korea was reached after months of negotiations. Before Trump’s visit, expectations were low for a trade deal. South Korea agreed to a framework agreement in July, but the two sides had difficulty reaching consensus on the details of Trump’s request that South Korea commit to investing $350 billion in the United States.
Hours after South Korea announced the deal, the White House released a document outlining some of Korea’s planned purchases of US equipment and energy, as well as some US investments in Korean companies. Korean Air, the national carrier, will buy 103 planes from Boeing, according to the document.
On that occasion, Kim said that the United States intends to reduce tariffs on imports of South Korean products from 25% (in effect since August) to 15%. Moreover, he said that the United States has agreed to accept cash investments of up to $20 billion annually, and has allocated another $150 billion to invest in American shipbuilding operations.
Andrew Yu, a senior fellow and Korea representative at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies, called the agreement a “huge relief” for the South Korean government and a major foreign policy victory for newly elected President Lee.
South Korea received more concessions and reached an overall less onerous agreement than Japan, which agreed to invest $550 billion in the United States. The memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tokyo stipulates that Trump will choose how to invest the money. If Japan opposes the nominations, Trump has the right to impose higher tariffs.
Moreover, after Japan recovers its initial investment funds, 90% of the profits will go to the United States.