The US will impose a 15 per cent tariff on imported South Korean goods after US President Donald Trump reached a deal with the key Asian trading ally.
Mr Trump met with South Korean officials at the White House on another day of multiple trade developments ahead of the August 1 deadline for his "reciprocal" tariffs to snap back into place.
Before the deal, a 25 per cent tariff would kick in on US imports of South Korean computer chips, cars, and steel.
"I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea," Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said South Korea had agreed to invest $US350 billion ($543 billion) in US projects that he selected, and to buy $US100 billion of liquefied natural gas, and other energy products.
Both steps have been major priorities for Mr Trump, in other trade deals.
Mr Trump also said South Korea would accept American products, including cars, trucks and agriculture into its markets and impose no import duties on them.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the country's tariff deal with the US would put South Korea on an equal or better footing compared with other countries.
He also said the countries had agreed to set up a $US350 billion investment fund, out of which $US150 billion was aimed at a shipbuilding partnership.
Mr Trump said further South Korean investments would be announced later, and Mr Lee would visit the White House "within the next two weeks".
India targeted with 25 per cent
Mr Trump said the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods from August 1, along with an unspecified "penalty" for buying Russian weapons and oil.
Mr Trump also signed an order to place an additional 40 per cent tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff to 50 per cent, in part as punishment for the prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
And he formalised a 50 per cent tariff on copper products, which was foreshadowed earlier this month and will now also take effect on Friday.
Mr Trump's decision to target India threatens to unravel months of talks between the two countries and undermine their key strategic partnership.
"While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country," Mr Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
"They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!"
In a separate post, Mr Trump said the August 1 deadline "stands strong, and will not be extended". But speaking to reporters later, he said talks were continuing.
"They have one of the highest tariffs in the world now. They're willing to cut it very substantially," Mr Trump said.
"We're talking to India now. We'll see what happens … You'll know by the end of this week."
The Indian government released a statement saying it noted the US president's decisions and was studying the implications, and would take all available steps to protect India's national interests.
The White House has previously warned India about its tariffs, which are nearly 39 per cent on agricultural products, with rates climbing to 45 per cent on vegetable oils and about 50 per cent on apples and corn.
Russia remained India's top oil supplier during the first six months of 2025, providing 35 per cent of its overall supplies.
The US currently has a $US45.7 billion ($70 billion) trade deficit with India.
Mr Trump's announcement pushed the Indian rupee down 0.4 per cent to about 87.80 against the US dollar in the non-deliverable forwards market, from its close at 87.42 during market hours.
Tariffs a point of contention
"Higher tariffs for India compared to countries it competes with, for exports to the US, are going to be challenging," said Ranen Banerjee, a partner of economic advisory services at PwC India.
US and Indian negotiators had held multiple rounds of discussions to resolve contentious issues, particularly over market access into India for US agricultural and dairy products.
Despite progress in some areas, Indian officials resisted opening the domestic market to imports of wheat, corn, rice and genetically modified soybeans, citing risks to the livelihood of millions of Indian farmers.
The US had flagged concerns about India's increasing import-quality requirements, among its many barriers to trade, in a report released in March.
The new tariffs are expected to impact India's goods exports to the US, estimated at about $US87 billion in 2024, including labour-intensive products such as garments, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, and petrochemicals.
Mr Trump's announcement puts India among a growing list of countries facing higher tariffs under the US president's "Liberation Day" trade policy, aimed at reshaping US trade relations by demanding greater reciprocity.
Many of the US's trading partners face a Friday deadline to reach deals on reciprocal tariffs or have a Trump-imposed tariff slapped on them.
The new copper tariff applies to "all imports of semi-finished copper products and intensive copper derivative products", taxing those imports at the same level as steel and aluminium.
While copper is a significant export product for Australia, sales to the US last year were valued at just $US36 million — less than 1 per cent of Australia's total copper exports. The majority of the US's copper imports come from Chile.
More haggling expected
The setback comes despite earlier commitments by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Trump to conclude the first phase of a trade deal by the northern hemisphere's autumn and expand bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, from $191 billion in 2024.
Indian officials have previously indicated that they view the US as a key strategic partner, particularly in counterbalancing China. But they have emphasised the need to preserve policy space on agriculture, data governance, and state subsidies.
It was not immediately clear whether the announcement was a negotiating tactic. While Mr Trump railed against Japan in a June 30 Truth Social post and said there would likely be no deal with the North Asian nation, a deal was agreed on July 22.
An Indian government official told Reuters that New Delhi remained engaged with the United States to seal an agreement.
Economists, too, remained hopeful.
"While the negotiations seems to have broken down, we don't think the trade-deal haggling between the two nations is over yet," Madhavi Arora, an economist at Emkay Global, said.
Reuters/ABC
