Trump Says He Told South Korea to 'Pay a Price' for Lower Tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly emphasized on Oct. 6 (local time) that he demanded South Korea pay a "price" in exchange for lower tariffs.

Speaking at the Sparrows Point shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland, President Trump said, "South Korea recently provided us with $150 billion. All of that money is going into the shipbuilding industry. That was South Korea's way of lowering the tariffs imposed on them."

He added, "They want to lower the tariffs imposed on them, and I said, 'You have to pay a price for that.'"

President Trump also introduced South Korean firm Hanwha, noting that it is "investing billions of dollars to revive a historic shipyard in Philadelphia (Philly Shipyard)," describing it as "a very big and old shipyard."

President Trump's remarks refer to the South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project known as MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again), under which South Korea is investing $150 billion—solely in the shipbuilding sector—out of the total $350 billion in U.S. investments agreed upon under the bilateral trade pact.

This is interpreted as a reminder that South Korea must fulfill its investment in the U.S. as the price for receiving lower tax rates under country-specific differential tariffs.

Regarding the remaining $200 billion in U.S. investments, the two countries have agreed to pursue the construction project for the Encinal combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Texas as their first project, while additional large-scale nuclear reactor construction projects and the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project are slated for further negotiations.


However, taking South Korea's investment in the $50 billion Alaska LNG project as a given, President Trump said on Oct. 2, "Tell them that if they don't reach an agreement soon, I will double the bill (for South Korea)."

President Trump's successive remarks regarding South Korea's investment in the U.S. are interpreted as an intention to promote the effectiveness of his tariff policies ahead of the midterm elections.

Alaska, where President Trump pinned down investment in the LNG project, is one of the battleground areas for the midterm elections.

Sparrows Point, where President Trump spoke on this day, is a site where U.S. defense tech firm Anduril is investing $3.7 billion and the U.S. Navy has placed $2.9 billion in contracts to build a military shipyard and naval vessel parts production facilities.

President Trump stated that it is the largest shipyard construction "since World War II," adding, "U.S. taxpayers will own a 40% stake in this new shipyard."

At the facility, named Anduril's "Arsenal II," next-generation autonomous submarines, torpedo tubes, and core components for cutting-edge nuclear-powered Virginia-class attack submarines are scheduled to be produced.

Reuters reported that full-scale operations are projected to begin before 2030.

Regarding the war in Iran, President Trump stated, "We have to finish it. It's just a matter of how we do it," adding, "Will we do it the good way or the bad way? You will find out very soon."

President Trump projected that U.S. defense spending for the next fiscal year would reach $1.5 trillion.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.