logo
Tariffs: Trump announces deal to impose 15% levy on South Korea

Tariffs: Trump announces deal to impose 15% levy on South Korea

BBC Newsa day ago
President Donald Trump says the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the Asian trading partner that avoids even higher levies."I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea," he said on the Truth Social platform on Wednesday.South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the deal would put his country on an equal or better footing compared with other countries.The announcement comes just a day before a 1 August deadline for countries to reach agreements with the US or be hit with higher tariffs. South Korea had been facing a 25% levy if it had not struck a deal.
As part of the arrangement, South Korea would invest $350bn (£264.1bn) in the US for projects selected by Trump and buy $100bn of liquefied natural gas and other energy products, Trump said.Trump also said South Korea would accept American products, including cars, trucks and agriculture into its markets and impose no import duties on them.Lee Jae Myung would visit the White House "within the next two weeks" for a meeting with Trump, the US president added.Since returning to office in January, Trump has introduced a series of import taxes on goods from other countries, and threatened many more.He argues that these tariffs will boost American manufacturing and protect jobs.However, his volatile international trade policy has thrown the world economy into chaos, and critics have warned that the tariffs are making products more expensive for US consumers.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Biden laments over Trump's handling of the presidency in speech: ‘These are dark days'
Biden laments over Trump's handling of the presidency in speech: ‘These are dark days'

The Independent

time13 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Biden laments over Trump's handling of the presidency in speech: ‘These are dark days'

Former President Joe Biden blasted his predecessor and successor in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump, in a speech at the National Bar Association's Centennial Convention in Chicago on Thursday night. Biden said he was 'proud I've appointed judges doing their best to be independent, fair, and impartial, respecting the rule of law, upholding the Constitution. I wish I could say the same for the executive branch.' The 82-year-old said Trump was 'doing his best to dismantle the Constitution.' Saying that he was 'deadly earnest,' Biden lamented that Congress was 'just sitting on the sidelines' and that the Supreme Court was enabling the president's worst impulses. 'The rulings they made, my God,' said Biden. The former president said, 'There are moments …that forced us to confront hard truths about ourselves, our institutions, and democracy itself. We are, in my view, at such a moment in American history, reflected in every cruel executive outreach, every rollback of basic freedoms, every erosion of long-standing established precedent.' 'Watching immigrants who are in this country legally, torn from the arms of their family, dragged away in handcuffs, the only home they've ever known,' said Biden. 'My friends, we need to face the hard truths of this administration.' He argued the Trump administration's goals have been to 'erase all the gains' from his own time in the White House, and 'to erase history rather than make it, to erase fairness, equality, to erase justice itself. And that's not hyperbole, that's a fact.' 'Look, folks, you can't sugarcoat this. These are dark days, but you're all here for the same reason. I left that prestigious law firm … to go to the defender's office years ago, it's because our future is literally on the line,' he added. Biden accepted an award from the association following his 22-minute speech, in which he criticized the president without mentioning him by name. The former president was awarded the association's highest honor, named after its founder, C. Frances Stratford. The National Bar Association is the country's oldest and largest national association of mostly African American attorneys, judges, law professors, and students. Biden's speech targeting the president came as a group of federal judges has asked U.S. political leaders to tone down their rhetoric and ease their attacks on members of the judicial system after a spike in intimidation and death threats. The group Speak Up for Justice hosted a forum on Thursday where a number of judges spoke of their experiences of receiving hatred and harassment. While Trump was not named, Esther Salas, a District Court judge in New Jersey, said attacks came from the 'top down.' 'The fix check is so easy in some ways, right, because what we need is our political leaders from the top down to stop fanning these flames, to stop using irresponsible rhetoric, to stop referring to judges as corrupt and biased and monsters that hate America. We need our leaders to lead responsibly,' said Salas Thursday. 'Stop demonizing us, stop villainizing us, because what they're doing when they do that irresponsible rhetoric is they are inviting people to do us harm… because our leaders are calling us idiots and deranged, and monsters,' she added.

Clouds gather over rupee on tariff worries, persistent outflows
Clouds gather over rupee on tariff worries, persistent outflows

Reuters

time14 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Clouds gather over rupee on tariff worries, persistent outflows

MUMBAI, August 1 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to open slightly weaker on Friday, with traders expecting the currency to hold a depreciation bias in the near term amid worries over the impact of steep U.S. tariffs on Indian exports and persistent portfolio outflows. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated the rupee will open in the 87.65-87.70 range versus the U.S. dollar, compared with 87.5950 in the previous session. The rupee declined about 2% in July, with U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of a 25% levy on Indian goods, alongside an unspecified penalty, pushing it closer to its all-time low of 87.95. Economists estimate that the 25% tariff announced could shave off the South Asian nation's growth in 2025-26 by up to 40 basis points, but analysts and investors also reckon that India may be able to achieve a lower rate via negotiations. "India remains a strategic partner for the U.S. and stands to benefit from opening up its large market. We, therefore, believe there is a path forward and expect India will eventually secure a relatively favourable deal," analysts at BMI said in a note. A tariff on pharmaceutical exports from India, if implemented, would have a more serious impact on India's growth, the note added. Uncertainty on trade is also expected to be a near-term drag on foreign investors' outlook on Indian equities. Overseas investors net pulled out over $600 million from local stocks on Thursday, per provisional exchange data. The 25% tariff may mark the beginning of protracted negotiation, but "India needs some positive news to grab foreign investors' interest as they have continued to dump Indian equities and North Asia, with its value, income and reform tilt is faring much more strongly," said Sat Dhura, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors. "It will take more than a trade announcement to reverse that," Dhura said. Meanwhile, Asian currencies were down between 0.1% and 0.5% on the day, while slimmed hopes of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in September helped the dollar cling to the 100 handle, its highest in about two months. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 87.77; onshore one-month forward premium at 13 paisa ** Dollar index at 100.09 ** Brent crude futures down 0.1% at $71.6 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.38% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $18.6mln worth of Indian shares on Jul. 30 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $6mln worth of Indian bonds on Jul. 30

Gold heads for weekly loss on stronger dollar
Gold heads for weekly loss on stronger dollar

Reuters

time14 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Gold heads for weekly loss on stronger dollar

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Gold prices traded flat on Friday, but were on track for a weekly loss as pressure from a stronger dollar outweighed support from trade uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs. Spot gold was steady at $3,287.65 per ounce, as of 0242 GMT. Bullion is down 1.5% so far this week. U.S. gold futures eased 0.3% to $3,337.20. The dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab hit its highest level since May 29, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. "Gold has been in a $3,250 to $3,450 range for about two months now and we see it heading towards the bottom end of the range and perhaps breaking it," said Marex analyst Edward Meir, adding that the dollar's strength was driven by the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, which also weighed on the bullion. The Fed held interest rates steady in the 4.25%-4.50% range on Wednesday and dampened hopes for a September rate cut. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing "reciprocal" tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports from dozens of countries and foreign locations ahead of a Friday trade deal deadline. He increased duties on Canadian goods to 35% from 25% for all products not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve to negotiate a broader deal. "If various countries cannot renegotiate these tariff rates lower, we could see prices move higher again if trade tensions increase," Meir said. Meanwhile, U.S. inflation increased in June as tariffs on imports started raising the cost of some goods. Focus now shifts to U.S. jobs data due later in the day for more cues on Federal Reserve's rate-cut path. Gold thrives in a low-interest rate environment as it is a non-yielding asset. Spot silver fell 0.6% to $36.53 per ounce, platinum was down 0.2% to $1,291.55 and palladium held steady at $1,191.95. All three metals were headed for weekly losses.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store