Tariffs: Trump announces deal to impose 15% levy on South Korea

President Donald Trump says the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the Asian trading partner that avoids even higher levies.

“I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea,” he said on the Truth Social platform on Wednesday.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the deal would put his country on an equal or better footing compared with other countries.

The announcement comes just a day before a 1 August deadline for countries to reach agreements with the US or be hit with higher tariffs. South Korea had been facing a 25% levy if it had not struck a deal.

As part of the arrangement, South Korea would invest $350bn (£264.1bn) in the US for projects selected by Trump and buy $100bn of liquefied natural gas and other energy products, Trump said.

Trump also said South Korea would accept American products, including cars, trucks and agriculture into its markets and impose no import duties on them.

Lee Jae Myung would visit the White House “within the next two weeks” for a meeting with Trump, the US president added.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has introduced a series of import taxes on goods from other countries, and threatened many more.

He argues that these tariffs will boost American manufacturing and protect jobs.

However, his volatile international trade policy has thrown the world economy into chaos, and critics have warned that the tariffs are making products more expensive for US consumers.