South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and President Donald Trump finalized a trade agreement on Wednesday during the US leader’s final stop on his Asian tour, following months of negotiations.
Under the deal, South Korea will invest $350 billion in the US in exchange for Washington reducing tariffs on the Asian nation’s auto industry from 25% to 15%.
“We reached a deal,” Trump said ahead of a regional leaders’ banquet in Gyeongju. “We did a lot of different things. Great session.”
South Korea had welcomed Trump with gifts and flattery, the latest in a string of Asian nations to resort to a well-worn playbook to curry favor with the American leader.
Seoul gave Trump a replica of an ancient gold crown and awarded him its highest civilian honor, days after Tokyo ensured the US president was greeted by the Japanese emperor and was served American rice at a banquet, bucking a historic trend of promoting local produce at high-profile gatherings. And earlier on his trip through Asia, Trump presided over the signing of a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand, a condition of him attending a regional meeting.
