"'Without a currency swap, if we were to withdraw $350 billion in the manner that the U.S. is demanding and to invest this all in cash in the U.S., South Korea would face a situation as it had in the 1997 financial crisis,' he said through a translator."

APEC just got real big!

Undeterred.

"One person briefed on the agenda for Trump’s visit said... 'There are people inside the WH that are very set on expanding the U.S.-U.K. relationship as a means to counterbalance the EU, and I think that’s a big part of this trip.'"

"The Trump administration wants to sell American AI 'packages' to its allies as a form of AI sovereignty. 'We are committed to finding a way to enable America’s private companies to meet your national technological needs,' WH tech policy chief Kratsios told APEC members in South Korea this Aug."

"That may be hard for Americans to hear, but it’s true. The U.S. doesn’t have the workforce to do these jobs... The U.S. currently caps both H-1B specialty worker and H-2B temporary worker visas."

UPDATE: Starting tomorrow (Sept. 16 local time), the U.S. will levy a 15 percent tariff on Japanese cars, 10 percentage points lower than the 25 percent applied to Korean cars, putting Korea’s auto industry at a disadvantage in the U.S. market.

[Yonhap News TV Exclusive] As follow-up talks on U.S.–Korea tariffs remain deadlocked, government officials are said to be weighing a range of options — including the possibility of accepting a 25% tariff. www.yonhapnewstv.co.kr/news/AKR2025...

"South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the departure of the Air Korea charter flight, which had been expected on Wednesday, was delayed due to unspecified circumstances in the U.S., but it would not provide any further information."

"'Without an agreement, it will be difficult for the MASGA project to even get off the ground,' Kim said... the U.S. had presented South Korea with a draft similar to the one Japan accepted, but Seoul has maintained it cannot agree to those terms."

BY THE END OF THE YEAR

In July, Rep. Young Kim reintroduced the bipartisan Partner with Korea Act (H.R. 4687), creating 15,000 E-4 visas for skilled Koreans while safeguarding U.S. jobs. Following the arrests of Korean nationals building America’s EV future in Georgia, hope this bill gets renewed attention.

Trade war heats up: Donald Trump lashes out against the European Commission for imposing a €2.95 billion antitrust fine on Google. He threatens to invoke Section 301, which allows him to introduce tariffs and non-tariff measures in retaliation for a foreign act.

South Korea and the U.S. also agreed to cut auto tariffs to 15%, but with the WH’s EO with Japan issued first, Korean cars could face higher duties than Japanese competitors in the U.S. market. Meanwhile, Japan’s $550B investment “will be selected by the U.S. Government,” with no details provided.

Thinking of regulating? Aim for U.S. and Chinese tech giants at once.

"Senior White House officials see South Korea’s response as a litmus test on whether they will be able to pressure other trading partners to abort pushes for new digital restrictions, three of the people said."

"However, four people familiar with the White House’s conversations on digital trade policy say it was largely a response to several pieces of tech-focused legislation under consideration in South Korea’s parliament. The people were granted anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations."

"South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo said the U.S. wanted to use the summit to produce documents detailing the $350 billion investments in return for accepting Seoul's demand for formalising 15% tariffs on cars and chips, and ruling out the opening of rice and beef imports."

The Trump administration has scrapped the waiver that allowed Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to supply their Chinese factories with U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment without the usual approval process. It’s been only four days since the “successful” U.S.–South Korea summit.

BREAKING 🧵: Divided appeals court rules against Trump's tariffs. 4 judges appointed by Bush I, Obama, & Biden (2) say IEEPA doesn't allow tariffs. 4 judges app. by Bush II (2) & Obama (2) - including chief - say it does. 3 judges app. by Clinton & Obama (2) say it doesn't allow *these* tariffs.

“'The statute bestows significant authority on the President to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax,' the unsigned majority opinion said."

The first Trump–Lee summit took an unexpected turn, creating a warm atmosphere in DC — thanks to Kim Jong-un and Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize ambitions. But in my latest opinion on Korea Tech & Trade Watch, I argue the real challenges on trade and security were left untouched between the two leaders.

🇰🇷 met with 🇯🇵 and 🇺🇸 this week — cue 🇨🇳 🇷🇺 and 🇰🇵 lining up for their own ‘cordial’ photo-op.

The European Commission replies to Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs over tech laws. "It's the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate economic activities in our territory which are consistent with our democratic values." "These are separate questions."

The EU’s DMA, DSA, and DNA, along with comparable legislative measures in other jurisdictions, including South Korea’s Online Platform Regulation Act, could face greater challenges ahead. Yet the issue of digital trade barriers was reportedly not discussed at today’s U.S.–South Korea Summit.

Contrary to Trump’s earlier post on the U.S.–South Korea trade deal claiming that “they [Korea] will accept American agriculture,” Seoul said no further opening of the agricultural and livestock market was discussed at the summit — and the issue of reducing U.S. troops in Korea wasn’t raised either.

In response to Trump on comfort women, President Lee said, “Since President Trump values U.S.–Korea–Japan cooperation, I met with Japan beforehand to resolve issues he would be concerned about.” Yet the Korea–Japan joint statement made no mention of comfort women or other historical disputes.

Alaska LNG didn’t make it into the recent U.S.–South Korea trade deal, but at today’s summit, President Trump said he’ll launch a joint venture with Korea and Japan on Alaska oil.

And on that note, comes the first Trump-Lee summit.

"​These [U.S.] demands have some South Koreans wondering if it would be better to try to defend their country without U.S. troops. In recent years, surveys have shown that a majority of citizens want South Korea to build its own nuclear weapons instead of relying on the U.S. for protection."

First written summit statement in 17 years from S Korea and Japan — a “future-oriented” declaration that sidestepped most sensitive issues, from history disputes to Fukushima seafood import ban. Almost as if it were staged for Washington’s eyes ahead of Lee’s meeting with President Trump next week.

A Commission Q&A on the deal says digital regs not covered: "The Joint Statement does not include any commitment on EU digital regulations. We have made it very clear to the US that changes to our digital regulations – the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act – were not on the table."

In today's U.S.–EU joint statement, point 17 states, "The U.S. and EU commit to address unjustified digital trade barriers. The EU confirms it will not adopt or maintain network usage fees." Seoul’s debate over the fees involving @netflix.com, with the U.S.–Korea Summit next week, perfect timing.

"Expanding on a plan to receive an equity stake in Intel in exchange for cash grants, a WH official... said Lutnick is exploring how the U.S. can receive equity stakes in exchange for CHIPS Act funding for companies such as Micron, TSMC, and Samsung. Much of the funding has not yet been dispersed."

"EU officials said disagreements over language relating to 'non-tariff barriers' — which the US has previously said includes the bloc’s ambitious digital rules — are among reasons for the hold-up of the joint statement."

Japan’s Agriculture Minister Koizumi met Korean FM Cho, urging Seoul to lift its seafood import restrictions ahead of the summit. I wrote about Seoul’s dilemma in 2023 after the Camp David trilateral summit. With China and Russia still holding firm, will it land on the Korea–Japan summit agenda?

President Lee will visit Tokyo on Aug. 23 for his first summit with Japan, ahead of his Aug. 25 meeting with President Trump — FIRST time a South Korean president has gone to Japan before the U.S., underscoring ties in a year marking the 80th Liberation Day and 60 years of diplomatic relations.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will be visiting the U.S. Aug. 24–26 for a summit with President Trump on the 25th.

Brazil has lodged a WTO dispute settlement complaint against US tariffs. www.wto.org/english/news...

Given that both Nvidia and AMD are American, somebody please define "America First" for me.

My latest for Korea Tech & Trade Watch: With Squid Game’s Emmy milestone marking K-culture’s rise, @netflix.com has brought Korean content worldwide. Now, the network usage fee debate, flagged by the USTR as a trade barrier, is back in focus after the U.S.–EU deal and ahead of the U.S.–Korea summit.

Greer: "Importantly, these commitments [to ease tariff and non-tariff barriers] are actionable, and the US will enforce them... President Trump uniquely recognizes that the privilege of selling into the world’s most lucrative consumer market is a mighty carrot. And a tariff is a formidable stick."

The KFTC said it has responded to the U.S. House’s concerns over Korea’s proposed Online Platform Act, assuring that both current enforcement and future legislation would treat domestic and foreign companies equally, adding that “foreign companies will not be subject to discrimination.”

A poll released on the 4th in Seoul found that 63.3% of respondents gave a positive assessment of President Lee Jae-myung’s job performance, with the U.S.-Korea tariff deal seen as a boost.

"‘Even a binding deal like the FTA has been efficiently scrapped,’ warned Choi Seok-young, a former chief negotiator for the Korea-U.S. free trade deal, signed in 2007. ‘And this is just promise.’“

The baseball cap South Korea stitched up to pitch MASGA—Make American Shipbuilding Great Again—during tariff talks, reportedly a hit with U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick.

Amid growing U.S. calls to recalibrate the role of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to counter China, the upcoming U.S.-Korea summit is expected to center on key issues such as the possible realignment of USFK and increased South Korean defense spending.

Amen 🙏

The immediate reaction in Seoul is that it secured a 15 percent deal tied to $450 billion in U.S. investment, including $100 billion in LNG purchases—matching Japan’s rate despite Tokyo’s $550 billion pledge.

Another national emergency 🚨