South Korea dispatches top negotiators as trade talks with the U.S. heat up
Acting President of South Korea, Han Duk-su, spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump about a possible trade deal between the countries. Seoul is sending a special negotiation team to the United States. "Things are looking good," commented Trump.
What do you need to know?
- Last week, Donald Trump imposed tariffs on a number of countries.
- Some countries have started negotiations with the U.S. President to secure a trade agreement. Among them is South Korea.
- "Their best team is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good," Trump assessed.
Last week, Donald Trump imposed tariffs on dozens of countries worldwide. Some of these countries have begun the process of negotiating a trade agreement. Among those who spoke with Trump was the South Korean leader Han Duk-su.
"I just had a great call with the Acting President of South Korea. We talked about their tremendous and unsustainable Surplus, Tariffs, Shipbuilding, large scale purchase of U.S. LNG, their joint venture in an Alaska Pipeline, and payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"They began these Military payments during my first term, Billions of Dollars, but Sleepy Joe Biden, for reasons unknown, terminated the deal," he wrote.
"IThat was a shocker to all! In any event, we have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good" he added.
After a conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday at 09:00 GMT, when their two teams began talks, Trump called South Korea another country ready to talk about tariffs.
Trump wants China to yield
"China also wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call. It will happen!" he said.
On Monday, the Chinese government promised to "fight to the end" and announced the imposition of higher taxes on U.S. goods after Trump, in a post on Truth Social, threatened to increase the tariff rate to 104% on Chinese products.
China initially responded that starting this week, it will impose a reciprocal 34% tax on U.S. imports, arguing that such high fees undermine "the interests of the United States itself, but also threaten global economic development and the stability of the production and supply chain."
