The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Wednesday (29), during a visit to South Korea, a new trade and energy agreement with Seoul that provides for investments of up to US$600 billion in American territory and the expansion of South Korean purchases of US oil and gas.
“South Korea has agreed to pay the United States $350 billion to reduce tariffs levied against them. Additionally, they have agreed to purchase our oil and gas in large quantities, and investments in our country by South Korean businesspeople will exceed $600 billion,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
According to CNBCTrump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday finalized the details of the trade agreement, which had been negotiated since July. The agreement allows South Korea to avoid higher tariffs imposed by the United States, through a commitment to make investments and purchases of American energy.
According to South Korean government advisors, the investment fund promised by Seoul will be divided into two parts: US$200 billion in direct payments, limited to US$20 billion per year, and another US$150 billion destined for joint projects in the naval sector – one of the commitments made to “help Trump restore the American shipbuilding industry”, according to the CNBC.
Trump also confirmed that, based on the new military partnership, he authorized South Korea to develop nuclear-powered submarines.
“Our military alliance is stronger than ever, and on that basis, I gave them approval to build nuclear-powered submarines, rather than the older and much less agile diesel submarines they have now,” the American president declared.
During the meeting in South Korea, President Lee presented Trump with the country’s highest honor, the “Order of Mugunghwa”, and promised to increase defense spending to reinforce the alliance with Washington. He also asked for authorization from the United States to reprocess nuclear fuel intended for submarines, something currently prohibited by a bilateral agreement.
