U.S. President Donald Trump tells South Korea it will face increased tariffs unless it agrees to a proposed Alaska LNG project. Reporting from Quartz and CNBC says Trump warned that the tariff level would be doubled if Seoul does not sign onto the deal, which Trump has described as a major investment of about $50 billion. Yonhap similarly reports Trump threatens to “charge” South Korea more if it rejects the LNG proposal.
South Korea’s position is cautious. Quartz and CNBC note that South Korea says the Alaska LNG agreement is not yet finalized, and that it is evaluating the investment and conditions involved. Across the outlets, the emphasis is on Trump’s pressure tactics and the use of tariffs as leverage, while they differ mainly in wording—such as “double it up” versus “charge more”—and in how strongly they characterize South Korea’s current stance as awaiting finalization.
