Key Metrics
14.25
Heat Index-
Impact LevelMedium
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Scope LevelNational
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Last Update2025-08-25
Key Impacts
Positive Impacts (2)
Negative Impacts (5)
Event Overview
This event illustrates heightened economic protectionism and bilateral negotiating tactics, where tariffs serve as leverage for securing large-scale foreign investment and sector-specific cooperation. It exemplifies how states utilize commercial measures to reshape international relationships, prioritize domestic economic interests, and assert executive control over capital allocation. Such deals often reflect broader trends in strategic industry targeting and national interest-driven trade policy realignment.
Collect Records
Trump Announces New Trade Deal with South Korea, Setting 15% Tariffs
US President Donald Trump announced a new trade deal with South Korea ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline. The agreement sets a 15% tariff on goods from South Korea. Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, stating, "The Deal is that South Korea will give to the United States 350 Billion Dollars for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself." Of the $350 billion fund, $150 billion will be dedicated to shipbuilding cooperation, supporting South Korean companies' entry into the US shipbuilding industry, according to South Korean President Lee. The remaining funds will be allocated to sectors including semiconductors, secondary batteries, biologics, and energy. South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yuncheol, part of the country’s trade negotiation team in Washington, singled out the $150 billion shipbuilding fund as a key component. South Korea will also purchase $100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products from the US over the next 3-5 years. Prior to this agreement, goods from South Korea briefly faced a 25% reciprocal tariff in April before Trump paused the levies, a pause that was set to expire on August 1. Trump stated that "today's deal eliminated uncertainty in the export environment." However, the new 15% tariff remains higher than the 10% minimum tariff imposed on South Korean and dozens of other nations' goods since April. The article also stated that gross domestic product for South Korea contracted at an annual rate of 0.1% in the first quarter of the year, the first negative reading in four years, highlighting the economic impact of the tariffs.