U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to impose higher tariffs on South Korea if it does not proceed with investment in a $54 billion liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, signaling a potential escalation in the trade dispute between Washington and Seoul.
Trump earlier in the week announced plans for the liquefied natural gas export project, presenting it as a cornerstone of South Korea's commitment to invest in the United States. The South Korean government, however, said its approval of the project was conditional on establishing its economic viability.
Threat of higher tariffs
If they don't want to proceed with it, that's fine with me. I'll impose higher tariffs on them.
Trump made the comment in response to a question about South Korea's position, using language similar to his previous threats to impose tariffs on foreign governments.
It remains unclear whether Trump has the authority to unilaterally raise tariffs on South Korean goods in response to Seoul's position, after the Supreme Court earlier this year curbed his authority to impose tariffs.
Investments under the trade deal
Washington and Seoul spent months identifying projects that would receive part of the hundreds of billions of dollars in investment South Korea pledged to inject into the United States under the trade deal it reached with Washington last year.
Asked whether he had rushed to announce the liquefied natural gas project, Trump said: “I didn't rush. I mean, they were there.”
No South Korean government official took part in Trump's announcement from the Oval Office on Wednesday, while a representative of private group Glenfarne, the developer of the liquefied natural gas project, was present.
The project's political significance
The Alaska project has political significance for Trump and Republicans because it is planned for a state with a closely contested race for a U.S. Senate seat in the midterm elections expected in November. The latest comments risk deepening the dispute between the United States and South Korea over trade and security.
