Trump secures 15% tariff rate in latest trade deal with South Korea

President Donald Trump announced a new trade agreement reached with South Korea — the largest export destination for US beef — on July 30.

While not many details were revealed about the deal, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the agreement includes a $350 billion investment into the United States from South Korea.

South Korea also agreed to a tariff rate of 15% on imports into the United States, while the United States will not be charged any tariffs.

As South Korea is a key trading partner for US meat exporters, the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) thanked President Trump for the trade negotiations recently made.

“As the largest export destination for US beef and a critical market for US pork, Korea provides a great example of what the US red meat industry can achieve in the global marketplace,” said Dan Halstrom, president and chief executive officer of USMEF. “Under the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), Korea eliminated tariffs on US pork and the tariff rate for US beef — which was once 40% — will reach zero at the beginning of next year. As a result, the US industry and Korean consumers have benefited immensely, with US beef exports to Korea exceeding $2 billion annually in each of the past four years, and last year pork exports were record-large at $730 million.

“Korea’s domestic beef and pork production have also set records under KORUS, as consumption growth has underpinned larger imports and domestic production — a win for producers and consumers.”