Trump says a trade deal with South Korea has been reached: ‘Pretty much finalized it’

Reuters via NY Post ^ | 10/29/2025 | Reuters

[DFG]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday a trade deal had been struck with South Korea, in remarks that sent the won up against the dollar, as a compact promises to dispel uncertainty for the trade-reliant economy.

“We did, we did. We did reach a deal,” Trump said in response to a query on whether a deal was struck, ahead of a dinner hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

“We made our deal, pretty much finalized it,” he added later, without giving details.

The won (=KRW) was up 0.54% against the dollar by 10:01 GMT on the news.

In the absence of a deal, South Korean makers of cars and steel must pay U.S. tariffs of 25% rather than the 15% agreed in July, putting them at a disadvantage to Japanese competitors who pay 15% after Tokyo’s deal with the United States.

The Trump-Lee summit came during the U.S. president’s three-nation Asia tour that started in Malaysia with a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

South Korean officials said both countries remain “sharply” divided over the cash portion of a $350-billion investment package, as Seoul has sought to reduce it by boosting the share of loans and loan guarantees.

[bert]

——”South Korean makers of cars and steel must pay U.S. tariffs of 25%”——

The President of the United State on international TV lied to the world. He flat out continued to state the lie he has conveyed as truth since the beginning.

The Korean makers of cars and steel will not pay tariffs. The American purchasers of the autos and steel will pay the tariffs on importation of the products into this country.

[traderrob6]

Can you really be that obtuse???

[bert]

How so?

[Emcane]

Hey bert, I know you are a troll, but let me have some fun here. Who do you think is the Company in US that is making the Korean cars that need the steel and aluminum? Do you think Kia outsources manufacturing to US company? Sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s the Korean companies that are paying the tariffs to get the materials to the locations they need them to manufacture their cars in US. The company then has the option to pass those increased costs to consumer, but in this case, not all cars are subject to this tariff, so the Korean car manufacturer has to price cars to be competitive in the market, or consumers will just buy other less expensive cars. Not as simplistic as you would like to propagandize.

[bert]

That is correct. Thanks for that clarification. But, the purchaser of the car at retail pays the tariff that is passed on at the retail level.

[ridesthemiles]

BERT:

EVERY PENNY OF PROPERTY TAX THAT GM PAYS ALL AROUND THE USA IS ALSO PASSED ON TO THE PURCHASER.

ALSO COMPANY PORTION OF PAYROLL TAXES.....

[bert]

While what you say is of course true, the President doesn’t claim the Koreans pay those taxes

[VanShuyten]

I’d be careful about this new ROK president. He’s been all over the map, but is mostly a leftist.

[Toughluck_freeper]

Blah blah blah...
“Trump LIED!” favorite words of the people with TDS.

What happened to the gloom and doom over all the tariffs President Trump enacted months and months ago?

Our inflation is less than was predicted, it is going DOWN, and is now at 3%, our interest rates are going DOWN.

So, I think “LIED” is too strong of a word, perhaps completely incorrect, and can be summarily dismissed.

[mewzilla]

More details for anyone not wanting to give FNC the clicks...

Gunther Eagleman™
@GuntherEagleman

BREAKING: Trump Seals the Deal! President Trump has officially locked in a massive $350B trade pact with South Korea, $200B in direct U.S. investments, $100B in LNG buys, and slashed tariffs from 25% to 15%
From
Eric Daugherty

9:19 AM · Oct 29, 2025· 93.2K Views

https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1983524203426156780

[Emcane]

Incorrect, as I stated, the Korean cars are in a market with cars that source steel and aluminum from US companies and are not subject to the tariff. Those cars are priced without any tariff cost and that is who the Korean companies are competing with. So if they pass tariff on to consumer, they may loose sales, as consumers choose to buy cheaper non-tariffed cars. That is called market forces, and they are in play here as well as tariffs.

[central_va]

Import tariffs are awesome. Turn about is fair play.

[central_va]

No. Corrupt governments will subsidize the exporter to reduce impact. The importer will also eat some of the tariff. The end user and consumer barely impacted. Your rigid thinking is scary proving globalism is a mental illness like TDS.