South Korea plans to offer an investment package of at least $100 billion in the United States as the centrepiece of a trade deal the two allies are trying to finalise before a 1 August deadline, according to Yonhap and official statements. The proposal, which includes a multiyear programme to modernise U.S. shipyards under the banner “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” is aimed at averting a threatened 25 percent U.S. tariff on South Korean exports. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and other officials have held a series of meetings with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, New York and Scotland over the past week, and Seoul says further talks will continue on Friday. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol departed for Washington pledging to secure a “mutually beneficial” agreement, while Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong also travelled to the U.S. to support the negotiations. Both governments say they remain committed to concluding the package this week. Seoul has emphasised that the deal will protect South Korean companies from discrimination while advancing U.S. industrial priorities, particularly in shipbuilding. Failure to reach agreement would trigger the reciprocal duties announced by the Trump administration, adding fresh strain to a trade relationship worth more than $200 billion annually.