U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 1st (local time), "We have a great relationship with Korea."
Trump made this remark while responding to reporters' questions about when he would hold a summit with Korea, as he was departing for Bedminster, New Jersey, from the White House.
Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Trump conveyed the news of a Korea-U.S. trade agreement via his social media platform, Truth Social, mentioning that President Lee Jae-myung would visit the U.S. within two weeks for a summit. On the 1st, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Hyun held a press briefing after her first in-person meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stating that scheduling for the Korea-U.S. summit had begun.
When asked about imposing a 50% tariff on Brazil, Trump said, "I love the Brazilian people," adding, "It is because the people running the Brazilian government did something wrong." Regarding trade negotiations with India, he said, "As far as I understand, India will no longer purchase crude oil from Russia. I heard that, and I don't know if it's true, but that's a good move."
He cited a "$40 billion (approximately 55.58 trillion won) trade deficit" as the reason for imposing a higher tariff of 39% on Switzerland than previously announced. Neutral Switzerland attempted a last-minute call with Trump, but could not avoid the high tariffs. Switzerland's major exports to the U.S. include high-value products such as pharmaceuticals and precision machinery.