Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced another in a series of recent trade deals – this time with the Republic of Korea – that he says amounts to an investment in $350 billion in U.S. goods, including agricultural products, and South Korea will purchase an additional $100 billion in liquified natural gas (LNG) and other energy products.
The President says U.S. goods will be traded at a zero tariff rate with South Korea, while South Korea will pay a 15 percent tariff on U.S. goods. Details will come in the next two weeks when South Korea’s president has a planned visit to the White House.
In reaction, U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Ryan LeGrand said:
“South Korea is one of our longest-established trading partners, so the Council is happy to see the Administration show a commitment to building on those years of mutual respect and trade with the negotiation of this newest trade deal. Korea was our fifth largest trading partner in grains in all forms with sales totaling $4.07 billion in the 2023/2024 marketing year, or 5.9 million metric tons in U.S. corn equivalent. The Council has worked in South Korea for nearly 53 years, and the country is our second largest trading partner in U.S. distillers grains with solubles, third in U.S. barley, and sixth in both U.S. corn and ethanol. We look forward to many more years of mutually beneficial trade between our two countries.”