The agreement comes after other American allies, like Japan, clinched their own deals, partly to moderate President Trump’s tariff threats.

Social media posts have recirculated an old video of US President Donald Trump and falsely presented it as depicting him calling South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung a "bad negotiator" after their countries agreed a trade deal.

General Motors is a big beneficiary of lower import tariffs on South Korea. The U.S. auto maker builds cars there.