US President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that a trade deal had been reached with South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung, before adding that the agreement was “pretty much” finalised.
“We did,” Trump told journalists when asked if a deal had been reached, without giving further details.
“We reached a deal. We did a lot of different things. Great session,” the US leader said.
But he then appeared to walk back the claim, telling a dinner including Lee that the deal was “pretty much finalised”.
“We came to a conclusion on a lot of very different items,” Trump said.
In July, Trump said Washington had agreed to cut tariffs on South Korean imports to 15 percent in exchange for a $350 billion investment pledge.
But steep auto tariffs remained in place, and the two governments were divided over the structure of the investment pledge.
Speaking to reporters, top Seoul presidential aide Kim Yong-beom confirmed a broad deal had been struck.
Seoul and Washington had “reached an agreement on the details of the tariff negotiations”, Kim confirmed.
He said the two sides had agreed to maintain reciprocal tariffs at 15 percent following the preliminary agreement made in July.
The two sides also agreed to “cutting tariffs on automobiles and auto parts to 15 percent”, down from 25 percent, said Kim, the president’s policy chief.
“South Korea’s financial investment package for the United States, worth $350 billion, consists of $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation,” Kim added.
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© Agence France-Presse
