Last year, the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on South Korea. Eventually, the US and South Korea reached an investment agreement worth $350 billion for the US. Now, $200 billion of that has been allocated.
According to Bloomberg, on September 30 local time, U.S. President Donald Trump announced at the White House that South Korea would support a number of U.S. energy projects, including up to 8 nuclear power plants, large natural gas power facilities in Texas, and an LNG project in Alaska, with a total value of approximately $200 billion.
These projects all stem from the $35 billion investment commitment made during last year's US-Korea trade negotiations.
In July 2025, after the Trump administration threatened to impose a 25% “countervailing tariff” on South Korean goods, the United States and South Korea reached a trade agreement. South Korea promised to invest $350 billion in the United States, while the United States reduced the tariffs on South Korean goods to 15%. The US tariffs on South Korean automobiles and auto parts were also reduced from 25% to 15%.
Of the $350 billion, $150 billion are allocated to the U.S. shipbuilding industry, while another $200 billion are directed towards energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence sectors.
The projects announced on September 30 are mainly related to energy.
The largest investment is in nuclear power. According to the currently disclosed plan, South Korea expects to invest approximately $10 billion to build up to 8 nuclear reactors in the United States. Westinghouse Electric, which sells the AP1000 nuclear reactors, is expected to participate in this project.
US Secretary of Commerce Lautnick also announced that South Korea will support a natural gas power plant in Texas with a capacity of 6.5 gigawatts, with an investment of approximately 22 billion US dollars.
According to people familiar with the matter, this power plant is likely to start generating electricity before the end of this decade, and some of the electricity will be supplied to local data centers.
Another large sum of funds has been invested in Alaska.
South Korea plans to provide approximately $54 billion in support for the Alaska LNG project. The project aims to transport natural gas from the northern slopes of Alaska southward, with a portion of the gas used for local power generation, and the remainder liquefied and exported to Asia.
Alaska LNG has been planned for many years.
The project is large in scale, requiring the construction of long-distance gas pipelines across Alaska, as well as liquefaction and export facilities. The developer Glenfarne Group has signed preliminary agreements with some LNG importers, but has not yet made a final investment decision.
After taking office, Trump has publicly promoted this project several times, and the U.S. government has also been trying to find foreign funds and long-term buyers for it.
South Korea's $54 billion plan has provided additional potential funding for the project, but this is not yet a final investment commitment. The relevant funds still need to undergo further due diligence and project reviews.
$3500 billion is itself the most contentious item in US-Korea trade talks.
In the past, South Korea enjoyed zero tariffs for a large number of goods when they entered the US market under the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement. After Trump reimposed tariffs, although South Korea reduced the tariff rate from 25% to 15%, the cost of exporting to the US remains significantly higher than before.
US side secured US$35 billion in investment commitments.
Of this amount, $150 billion was allocated to the shipbuilding industry. After the agreement was announced last year, Korean shipbuilding companies have successively proposed to expand their shipyards in the United States, upgrade equipment, and increase investment.
Trump has also been using this investment to prove the effectiveness of his tariff policy.
In January this year, he publicly threatened that due to South Korea's failure to complete the domestic procedures required to implement the agreement, the tariffs on South Korean automobiles, timber, pharmaceuticals, and other goods would be increased again to 25%.
South Korea's National Assembly subsequently passed relevant legislation, and the government completed a portion of the implementation procedures.
The White House event on September 30 also has another context: the U.S. mid-term elections will take place in November.
Dan Sullivan, a Republican senator from Alaska who accompanied Trump to the event that day, is seeking re-election. He has long supported the Alaska LNG project and is currently competing with former Democratic congresswoman Mary Pelotora for a seat in the Senate.
Trump praised Sullivan on the scene as a staunch supporter of Alaska LNG, stating that this project would become “one of the largest energy projects in American history” and also “a great victory for the people of Alaska”.
He then mentioned his electoral achievements.
"You know, I've won a lot in Alaska. We have so much more than the others." Trump said. "We've done more for Alaska than anyone in history, ten times over."
