Trump: “Tell Korea that they have to pay a price to lower tariffs.”

Speech at the U.S. defense shipyard… Reiterates emphasis on implementing U.S. investments in Korea

“Korea provides $150 billion to shipbuilding industry,” mentioning ‘Masuga’ investment in shipbuilding industry.

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hong Jeong-gyu = U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly emphasized on the 6th (local time) that he demanded payment from Korea for tariff reductions.

In a speech at Sparrow Point, a defense shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland, President Trump said, "Korea recently provided us with $150 billion," adding, "All of that money goes into the shipbuilding industry. It was a way for Korea to lower the tariffs imposed on its country."

“They want to lower the tariffs on them,” he said. “I said, ‘You have to pay for that.’”

President Trump also said, "The Korean company Hanwha is investing billions of dollars to revive Philadelphia's historic shipyard (Philly Shipyard)," and introduced it as "a very large and old shipyard."

President Trump's comment was in reference to the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation project 'MASGA' (Make US Shipbuilding Great Again), in which Korea invests US$150 billion in the shipbuilding industry alone out of the US$350 billion investment in the US under the trade agreement with the US.

This can be interpreted as a reminder that Korea must invest in the United States in return for receiving a lower tax rate from tariffs levied differentially by country.

Regarding the remaining $200 billion in investment in the United States, the two countries have announced that they will pursue the construction of the Encinal gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Texas as the first project, and that the construction of eight large nuclear power plants and the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project will undergo additional discussions in the future.

However, President Trump treated Korea's investment in the $50 billion Alaska LNG project as a fait accompli, saying on the 2nd, "Tell them that if we don't reach an agreement soon, we will double (the bill against Korea)."

President Trump's series of remarks regarding Korea's investment in the United States are interpreted as an attempt to promote the effectiveness of his tariff policy ahead of the midterm elections. Alaska, where he nailed down LNG project investment, is one of the battlegrounds in the midterm elections.