Countries with no trade deal will hear from US by midnight, White House says

WASHINGTON: Countries that haven't negotiated a trade deal or received a tariff letter from the Trump administration will be hearing the from the U.S. about the terms of trade by the end of the day, the White House said on Thursday (July 31).

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South Korea will pay a 15% tariff and invest US$350B in US industry, with 90% of profits going to the US government.
South Korea also committed to buying $100B in US energy by 2028.
China negotiations are ongoing, aiming to reduce the US trade deficit by US$5B this year.

"The trade team has been working around the clock to try to be in correspondence with as many countries as possible, but if they haven't heard from us yet, they will in the form of a letter or an executive order by midnight tonight," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House.

Leavitt said the administration had reached a new agreement with South Korea following talks at the White House on Wednesday (July 30). Under the deal, South Korea will pay a 15% tariff rate, including on autos, while agreeing to major new concessions on American goods such as rice and energy. The country committed to purchasing $100 billion in U.S. energy by 2028 and investing $350 billion in American industry. According to Leavitt, 90% of the profits from that investment will go to the U.S. government to help pay down the national debt and support other administration priorities.

On China, Leavitt said negotiations were progressing and emphasized that the current trade arrangement would reduce the U.S. deficit by $5 billion this year. She noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ambassador Jamison Greer had just concluded a third round of talks in Geneva with Chinese officials, and that lines of communication remain open between both governments.