Trump and South Korea’s Lee seal contentious $350 billion trade pact

SOUTH KOREA: After months of tough negotiations and rising tension, US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced a landmark trade deal on Wednesday (Oct 29) — a breakthrough that both leaders hailed as a win for their countries’ economies and workers.

The agreement, finalised during Trump’s visit to the historic city of Gyeongju for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, offers South Korea relief from steep US tariffs in exchange for a sweeping $350 billion investment package in the American economy.

“We made our deal—pretty much finalised it,” Trump said over dinner with Lee and other regional leaders, calling the outcome a great victory for both nations.

A last-minute breakthrough

Just hours before the summit, the talks appeared on the brink of collapse. “Prospects were not bright even last night, and there was dramatic progress on the day,” admitted Kim Yong-beom, President Lee’s top policy adviser. He declined to go into detail about what turned the tide.

Under the agreement, South Korea will invest $350 billion in the US, split into two major parts:

• $200 billion in direct cash investments, paid out in yearly instalments of up to $20 billion, and
• $150 billion to help revive America’s struggling shipbuilding industry — a sector Trump has long promised to rebuild.

Profits from the investments will be shared equally between the two nations, even before the full amount is recovered. The deal must still be ratified by South Korea’s parliament. The White House has not released further details on the final terms.

Diplomacy amid regional tensions

Trump’s arrival from Tokyo came just hours after North Korea test-launched a nuclear-capable cruise missile, underscoring the fragile security situation in the region. The US president, however, brushed off the provocation, saying his attention was squarely on building economic partnerships.

“I’m looking forward to meeting President Xi,” Trump told reporters, referring to his upcoming summit in Busan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “We’re making tremendous progress across the region.”

As the APEC summit continues, Trump’s fast-paced Asia tour has become a balancing act — part hard-nosed trade negotiation, part strategic reassurance, and part effort to expand America’s economic influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Whether this US-South Korea agreement becomes a blueprint for future partnerships or sparks political debate at home will depend on how quickly both nations can turn ambitious promises into real-world results.