Trump says South Korea's $35 billion investment in the U.S. needs to be paid in advance, drawing attention.

Han Media: Trump: South Korea's $3.5 billion investment in the U.S. needs to be paid upfront

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized that the $3.5 billion (about 490 trillion won) investment by South Korea in the U.S. is "upfront." Analysts say this statement clearly reiterates that this investment is a prerequisite for South Korea to receive tariff reductions in the Korea-U.S. trade agreement.

On the 25th, President Trump met with reporters at the White House and said, "In the past, the U.S. did not get the treatment it deserved from other countries, but now it's different. The U.S. has never done so well." He said, "Through tariffs and trade agreements, we can get $9.5 billion at once, whereas before we got nothing." Japan got $5.5 billion, and South Korea got $3.5 billion, all of which were "upfront." The $9.5 billion that Trump mentioned may refer to the European Union (EU).

Trump's remarks on that day involved the July 30 compromise in the Korea-U.S. trade negotiations, drawing attention. At that time, the agreement reached between the two countries was that the U.S. would reduce the reciprocal tariffs and car tariffs applied to South Korean products from 25% to 15%, with the condition that South Korea implements a $3.5 billion investment in the U.S. However, there are still significant differences between the two sides regarding specific investment methods and implementation plans.

South Korea hopes to raise funds for the investment in the U.S. through guarantees rather than equity investment, but the U.S. prefers the same approach as Japan, which is to collect cash through equity investment, with the U.S. deciding the investment targets and enjoying 90% of the profits. In this case, the foreign exchange risk that South Korea needs to bear is too high, and the government proposed signing a South Korea-U.S. currency swap agreement as a condition for fulfilling the investment in the U.S.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1844376098637888/

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