"South Korea Considers US Investment Fund to Lower Auto Tariffs... US Requests $400 Billion"

As South Korea and the United States are engaged in trade negotiations, Bloomberg News reported on the 23rd (local time) that the two countries have discussed the creation of a fund to invest in the United States as part of the agreement.

The scope of the discussions has not yet been clearly disclosed, but it is reported that the United States has requested an amount in the hundreds of billions of dollars. However, negotiators have stated that the situation remains fluid. According to one source, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick requested an investment of $400 billion (approximately 548 trillion won) from South Korea.

Donald Trump, President of the United States. AP Yonhap News

This is similar to the trade agreement Japan signed with the United States the previous day. Japan agreed to invest $550 billion in the United States, including in the automotive sector, in exchange for reducing tariffs from 25% to 15%. Secretary Lutnick reportedly made the same proposal to Japan, but President Trump raised the amount to $550 billion during the final stage of negotiations.

However, Bloomberg assessed that, given the difference in economic scale between South Korea and Japan, it would be difficult for South Korea to invest the same amount.

One negotiator told Bloomberg that the talks with South Korea are also focused on reducing tariffs, including those on automobiles, to 15%. The negotiator added that, similar to Japan's commitment to purchase Boeing aircraft and agricultural products, South Korea may also pledge to buy more goods from major U.S. industries.

Bloomberg reported that both the White House and South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy declined to comment on the matter.

The U.S.-Japan agreement, reached the previous day at a 15% tariff rate, is putting significant pressure on South Korea. As competition in the automotive market is fierce, if South Korea fails to reach a similar agreement, Korean carmakers could lose ground.

William Chu, Japan Chair and Vice President at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, said, "This (U.S.-Japan) agreement puts significant pressure on South Korea," adding, "If South Korea can settle tariffs at 15%, it would be very satisfactory, but the situation is different from Japan's."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.