Trump Trade: U.S. enters full trade deal with South Korea

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

SOUTH KOREA TRADE DEAL: President Donald Trump stated in a post to Truth Social, “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. The Deal is that South Korea will give to the United States $350 Billion Dollars for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as President. Additionally, South Korea will purchase $100 Billion Dollars of LNG, or other Energy products and, further, South Korea has agreed to invest a large sum of money for their Investment purposes. This sum will be announced within the next two weeks when the President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, comes to the White House for a Bilateral Meeting. I would also like to congratulate the new President on his Electoral Success. It is also agreed that South Korea will be completely OPEN TO TRADE with the United States, and that they will accept American product including Cars and Trucks, Agriculture, etc. We have agreed to a Tariff for South Korea of 15%. America will not be charged a Tariff.”

TRADE DEALS: President Donald Trump stated in a post to Truth Social: “We are very busy in the White House today working on Trade Deals. I have spoken to the Leaders of many Countries, all of whom want to make the United States “extremely happy.” I will be meeting with the South Korean Trade Delegation this afternoon. South Korea is right now at a 25% Tariff, but they have an offer to buy down those Tariffs. I will be interested in hearing what that offer is. We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves. We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day! Likewise, other Countries are making offers for a Tariff reduction. All of this will help reduce our Trade Deficit in a very major way. A full report will be released at the appropriate time.”

TARIFFS ON COPPER: President Donald Trump signed a Proclamation to address the effects of copper imports on America’s national security, including by imposing tariffs on several categories of copper imports, the White House announced. “The Proclamation imposes universal 50% tariffs on imports of semi-finished copper products (such as copper pipes, wires, rods, sheets, and tubes) and copper-intensive derivative products (such as pipe fittings, cables, connectors, and electrical components), effective August 1. The copper 232 tariffs apply to the copper content of a product; non-copper content of a product remains subject to reciprocal tariffs or other applicable duties. These tariffs do not stack. The copper 232 tariffs do not stack with auto 232 tariffs. If a product is subject to auto 232 tariffs, then the auto 232 tariffs apply, not the copper 232 tariffs. Copper input materials (such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes, and anodes) and copper scrap are not subject to 232 or reciprocal tariffs,” the White House stated in a fact sheet. Publicly traded companies in the copper mining and production space include Freeport McMoRan (FCX), Southern Copper (SCCO), Rio Tinto (RIO), BHP (BHP), and Glencore (GLNCY).

DE MINIMIS: U.S. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for “low-value” shipments. The president claims the order closes a loophole used to” evade tariffs and funnel deadly synthetic opioids as well as other unsafe or below-market products that harm American workers and businesses into the United States.” Effective August 29, imported goods sent through means other than the international postal network that are valued at or under $800 and that would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption will be subject to all applicable duties. For goods shipped through the international postal system, packages will instead be assessed duties according to one of the following methodologies: Ad valorem duty: A duty equal to the effective tariff rate imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that is applicable to the country of origin of the product. This duty shall be assessed on the value of each package. Specific duty: A duty ranging from $80 per item to $200 per item, depending on the effective IEEPA tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product. The specific duty methodology will be available for six months, after which all applicable shipments must comply with the ad valorem duty methodology. Publicly traded foreign companies that sell lower-cost consumer goods to the U.S. include Alibaba (BABA) and PDD (PDD).