South Korea and the United States have been discussing a shipbuilding tie-up that could include investments to modernise U.S. shipyards and more help to repair the U.S. naval fleet as Seoul seeks better tariff terms,

The agreement that Japan secured has added pressure on South Korea to defuse the threat of high tariffs on its exports to the United States.

With just days left before a potential U.S. tariff on Korean imports, the White House said Friday that it is “continuing productive negotiations” with Korea on trade issues.