National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (2nd from L) speaks during a session at the sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 30, 2025, in this photo provided by his office. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 31 (Korea Bizwire) — National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Thursday welcomed a new tariff deal between South Korea and the United States, vowing to spare no effort in providing legislative support.
Woo made the remark in a Facebook post after the South Korean delegation reached the deal with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce planned “reciprocal” tariffs on South Korean goods to 15 percent, from the initially proposed 25 percent, just before the Aug. 1 deadline.
“It is a very meaningful achievement that we prevented the further opening of the agriculture and livestock sectors, which had raised public concerns,” he said.
The presidential office said the U.S. had strongly pushed for opening agricultural and livestock markets during the negotiations, but Seoul successfully fended off the demand.
South Korea is already the world’s biggest importer of American beef and has opened its market for 99.7 percent of agricultural products from the U.S., with the exception of only a handful of items, such as rice.
Under the agreement, Seoul will also invest US$350 billion in the U.S., with $150 billion earmarked for the shipbuilding industry, and purchase $100 billion of liquefied natural gas or other energy products.
“The result of the negotiations is expected to improve the conditions for competition in the U.S. market and provide an important opportunity for our companies to expand their markets and enhance their competitiveness in exports,” Woo added.
He also pledged bipartisan support to protect the economy and the interests of the people, saying the National Assembly will closely analyze the implications of the agreement and work in close communication with the government to provide legislative support if necessary.
(Yonhap)
