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South Korea announces lowering of tariffs as part of new US trade deal
The US and South Korea have reached a broad trade deal, both countries have said following talks between their leaders.
South Korea’s presidential aide, Kim Yong-beom, said the two sides will reduce reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 15%, as was agreed earlier this year.
South Korea will also invest $350bn in the US, including $200bn in cash investment and $150bn in shipbuilding, Kim said.
US President Donald Trump, who is currently on a week-long trip in Asia, said the deal was “pretty much finalised” at a dinner following the discussions, which lasted almost two hours. He did not give further details.
“We had a tremendous meeting today with South Korea”, Trump said of his discussions with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, adding that “a lot was determined”.
“We discussed some other things to do with national security et cetera. And I think we came to a conclusion on a lot of very important items.”
Both sides had played down the prospect of a breakthrough ahead of Wednesday’s talks – disappointing many in South Korea’s electronics, chip and auto industries, which had been hoping for some clarity amidst the tariff chaos.
Trump had slapped a tariff rate on Seoul of 25% earlier this year – which Lee managed to negotiate down to 15%, after Seoul said it would invest $350bn in the US and buy $100bn worth of liquified natural gas.
But the White House later increase its demands as part of the trade talks, with Trump pushing for cash investments in the US.
Both countries have historically been key allies – but tensions spiked after hundreds of South Koreans were detained in an immigration raid in the US last month.
Trump will next meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in on Thursday on the sidelines of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) which is taking place in Gyeongju.
China’s foreign ministry has confirmed the meeting, which will take place in the city of Busan on Thursday, a short flight away from Gyeongju.
The US president said on Wednesday that he was “looking forward” to the meeting.
“We’ve been talking a lot over the last month and I think we’re going to have something that’s gonna be very, very satisfactory to China and to us.”
This will be the two leaders’ first face to face meeting since Trump assumed office in 2025 and imposed tariffs on every country in the world.
Addressing a group of CEOs in Gyeongju on Wednesday, Trump said that he believes the US is “going to have a deal” with China and it will be “a good deal for both”.
He also praised the Apec countries for making the global trading system, which he said had been “broken” and “in urgent need of reform”, fairer.
“Economic security is national security,” Trump says. “That’s for South Korea, that’s for any country.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s talks with President Lee, Trump had been greeted by an honour guard and gifts that included a golden crown.
“I’d like to wear it right now,” Trump had said of the crown.
He also received the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, South Korea’s highest decoration.
He’s the first US president to receive the award, which was given “in recognition of his contribution to peace on the Korean Peninsula”, the South Korean presidential office said.
Both leaders took part in a working lunch – which was followed by a private meeting in the afternoon.
Trump’s arrival in South Korea had been preceded by North Korea test-firing surface-to-air cruise missiles.
The US president had expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but noted on Wednesday that his team had been unable to arrange this during his trip.
Noting the long-standing tensions between North and South Korea, Trump said “we will see what we can do to get that all straightened out”.
And outside the summit venue where both leaders were meeting, a small anti-Trump group of protesters gathered on Wednesday afternoon, with some shouting anti-Trump slogans. Police could be seen forcibly dispersing the crowd and arresting some people.
However, hundreds more attended a pro-Trump rally – including those who shouted anti-Chinese rhetoric – that also took place close to the summit venue.
Anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea has also grown steadily in recent years. Chinese interference became a common trope in conspiracy theories about former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol.
During his trip to Japan on Tuesday, the US president signed an agreement on rare earth minerals with Tokyo, as well as a document heralding a new “golden age” of US-Japan relations. This reiterated the commitment of the two countries to implement deals struck earlier, including the 15% tariff deal negotiated earlier this year.
Prior to that, he attended a gathering of South East Asian leaders, known as Asean, in Malaysia. There he presided over a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia, whose longstanding border dispute erupted into open conflict in July.
[BBC]
Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England’s ODI series decider against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday, with Jordan Cox likely to replace him and keep wicket. Don Lawrence who is yet to win an international cap in either white-ball format, has been called up to the squad as cover.
Buttler pulled up with a left hamstring injury while running between the wickets in Thursday’s second ODI at Headingley and received treatment from England physio Steve Haw, a recent recruit from rugby union club Exeter Chiefs. He faced two more balls before retiring hurt, and briefly hobbled back to the middle before holing out as England slipped to a 16-run defeat.
Buttler’s eventual 69 was his highest score in ODIs in three years, but his injury will be something of a concern. He is now 36, and has been affected by various soft-tissue injuries in recent years. These have mainly been calf injuries, but he also suffered a similar left-hamstring issue during the 2024 IPL season.
England do not yet know the extent of Buttler’s injury but expect to have more information early next week once he has been for an MRI scan.
In Buttler’s absence, Cox is likely to win only his fourth ODI cap on Sunday and is expected to take the gloves ahead of Tom Banton. Kevin Pietersen, England’s new white-ball mentor, said on Thursday night that opportunities available through injuries would help build depth ahead of next year’s World Cup.
“[We need to] have certain players in certain positions, in order for us to know that if something like this happens to Jos in, say, the final round of whatever game in South Africa, and you’ve got to go and play a quarter-final, that somebody can step up into Jos’s boots – like we’re going to need to have on Sunday,” Pietersen said.
Lawrence, who made three half-centuries in four innings in England’s recent Test series win over Pakistan, has been withdrawn from Surrey’s ongoing Country Championship match at Somerset, having made his sixth hundred of the season on Thursday. He will train with the ODI squad at The Oval on Saturday.
Lawrence was previously called up to England’s ODI squad to face Pakistan in 2021 when their first-choice side went into Covid isolation, but did not play a game in the series. He has only played 28 List A games in his career, the most recent of them in May 2019.
(Cricinfo)
Tens of millions of people across the north-eastern US are in the path of a powerful storm bringing coastal flooding, power cuts, travel chaos and cancelled stadium events.
The so-called nor’easter is bringing “dangerous coastal flooding and beach conditions, strong winds and heavy rainfall” to areas including New York City and Boston on Saturday, the US National Weather Service (NWS) said.
States of emergency have been declared in New York and New Jersey, both of which faced a coastal deluge in some areas. Rain and strong winds are forecast from Virginia to Maine.
Ed Sheeran’s much-awaited Boston concert was among events called off due to the weather.
Residents on kayaks in a Beach Haven West, New Jersey, neighbourhood (BBC)The nor’easter caused widespread power cuts. More than 100,000 households, nearly all in the northeast US, have lost electricity, according to tracker PowerOutage.
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended air passengers check with airlines about their flight status. More than 2,400 flights have been delayed and another 1,199 grounded, according to FlightAware.
Saturday’s full moon is projected to worsen coastal flooding. Streets and homes were inundated with floodwater in the coastal New Jersey communities of Surf City and Manasquan on Saturday.
“I urge all New Jerseyans to take this storm seriously, stay alert and follow local guidance,” Governor Mikie Sherrill said.
NWS said in its alert: “Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.”
In New York, officials are warning of wind gusts of up to 55mph (86km/h) throughout the weekend, leading to downed trees and power lines
“Don’t travel if you don’t have to,” NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani told residents in a video message. “Do not drive or walk through floodwater.”
In the Boston area, the Red Sox moved the last game in their series against the Chicago Cubs to Sunday afternoon in Florida.
A professional football match between Red Bull New York and St Louis City SC was also cancelled.
(BBC)
US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a week
He told reporters at the White House that Tehran “want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly”.
In a post on Telegram, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Trump’s comments, but said Tehran would wait for an official response from mediators.
On Friday, Araghchi had told reporters at the UN in New York that an agreement could be reached “if the necessary conditions are met” and that these were contained in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two countries in June.
The vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s gas and oil supply usually flows has been effectively closed since the outbreak of war in February.
“I’m rejecting their deal,” Trump said on Saturday, adding that the US already had “total control” of the strait, with “massive amounts of oil” passing through it.
“They want to make a deal, and I think that’s fine. I like making a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable,” he added.
Araghchi wrote that Trump “has made many good statements, as well as many contradictory ones, which unfortunately we hear frequently.”
He added that he would await the “definitive views” of mediators, and that Tehran “will make a decision based on that.”
On Friday the Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying Trump was sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he saw a renewed bombing campaign as probable.
Iran responded to US and Israeli air strikes, beginning in late February, by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US – as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure has caused wild fluctuations of energy prices.
The economic effects have also increased pressure on Trump to find a way of ending the conflict – particularly as the US heads towards Congressional elections in November.
(BBC)
Buttler out of Oval decider as Lawrence earns ODI call-up
Showers will occur in the Western, Eastern, Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
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