Trump says US-South Korea trade deal 'pretty much finalized'

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that an elusive trade deal with South Korea has been "pretty much finalized" during his visit to the East Asian nation.

Trump said "a lot was determined" during his meeting with President Lee Jae Myung, but stopped short of saying the leaders came to terms on a final deal.

"We made our deal, pretty much finalized, a trade deal. And we discussed some other things," Trump told reporters during a dinner hosted by Lee in South Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju. "We discussed some other things having to do with national security, etc. And I think we came to a conclusion on a lot of, on a lot of very important items."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threw cold water on the notion that an agreement could be finalized during Trump's visit, saying Monday that while he believed the sides are "close" to reaching an agreement, there are "a lot of details to work out, very complicated deal."

Still, Bessent said that an "overall framework" was completed, and it is unclear if that is the trade model Trump was referring to when he addressed reporters.

Trump has been seeking to have South Korea commit to investing $350 billion in the US. Reports have suggested that South Korea instead prefers to offer loans or loan guarantees so as not to significantly impact the country's economy.

In a separate statement, a South Korean official said that details of the $350 billion have been finalized, with $150 billion of the total pledges allocated for shipbuilding industry cooperation.

"The $350 billion investment pledge will consist of $200 billion in cash installments and $150 billion allocated for shipbuilding industry cooperation, with an annual cap set at $20 billion," said Kim Yong-beom, who is Lee's chief of staff for policy.

He explained that the $20 billion investments annually in the US economy would stay within a level that the South Korean foreign exchange market can comfortably absorb, thereby minimizing any potential impact.

Kim said Washington will reduce its reciprocal tariff on South Korean imports to 15%, in line with an initial agreement reached this July.

* Islamuddin Sajid contributed to the story.