Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol says the South Korea-U.S. trade agreement reached last year will remain valid regardless of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found U.S. global tariffs to be unlawful. 

Koo made the remark Monday during a briefing on the ministry’s operations to the National Assembly’s Finance, Economy, Planning and Budget Committee. 

On the recent announcement that U.S. President Donald Trump is imposing a 15 percent tariff on all countries, Koo said South Korea has an advantage over other countries, which face an effective U.S. tariff rate of two and a half percent, citing that the tariff on South Korea’s imports from the U.S. stands at zero percent in accordance with the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.

On the legislation to implement South Korea’s investment pledges to the United States, which remains pending in the National Assembly, Koo said the government believes it is desirable to pursue the legislation in line with established procedures. 

He said the Special Act on the Management of Strategic Investment between South Korea and the United States focuses on two factors: establishing a platform fund for the implementation of the trade agreement and setting up an entity to manage the fund.