Washington: US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will visit the White House for bilateral discussions within the next two weeks. This meeting will mark their first since Lee took office in June, during which he has been concentrating on negotiating a trade agreement with Washington to circumvent an August 1 deadline for increased duties.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Trump revealed on his Truth Social platform the imposition of 15 percent tariffs on imports from South Korea. He noted that South Korea would invest $350 billion in the United States and purchase $100 billion in liquefied natural gas or other energy products. Additionally, Trump mentioned that South Korea has committed to investing another unspecified “large sum of money,” which will be disclosed during Lee’s visit for the bilateral meeting at the White House.
Seoul, which has already experienced US sector levies on steel and car exports, remains a long-standing security ally of Washington, with approximately 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea. Last year, the allies signed a new five-year agreement on sharing the costs associated with stationing US troops in South Korea. Under this agreement, Seoul agreed to increase its contribution by 8.3 percent, amounting to 1.52 trillion won ($1.1 billion) by 2026.
Before returning to the White House in January, Trump had stated that if he won the presidential election, Seoul would be required to pay billions more annually.