The lead up to the coming meeting between President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and President Donald Trump is full of anticipation over the many things the two leaders are preparing to discuss.
One of those issues concerns South Koreans desire to import more American shale gas and also build new factories in the United States.
The summit is scheduled for next week in Washington, DC. South Korea’s largest business group, the Korea Chamber of Commerce, are preparing a large gamut of new investment opportunities which can potentially be a source of job growth for the US. Offering jobs to US citizens should give the Koreans a better position vis a vis the enlarging trade imbalance in favor of Korea which is of special concern to the isolationist tendencies of President Trump.
Samsung Electronics announced earlier this week that it plans to build a new appliance factory in South Carolina for about $380 million. In addition, the giant consumer electronics company would like to beef up its semiconductor plant in Texas for about $1.5 billion. Additional states in the US can also expect some job growth if LG Electronics implements its plan to invest $250 million into constructing a new factory to make washing machines in Tennessee, and $300 million on a new building in New Jersey.
Since 2012 the trade deficit the US has with South Korea has almost doubled. At that time, the US and South Korea signed a bilateral trade agreement. Trump criticized this very deal while on the campaign trail last year.
Total trade between the two allies totaled $144.6 billion in 2016, with the US holding a $17 billion deficit.
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