South Korea said newly elected President Lee Jae-myung spoke for the first time with Donald Trump and agreed to seek “tangible results” in trade negotiations, after the US leader imposed a 25% tariff on all imports from its Asian ally.

South Korea's new leader Lee Jae-myung and Donald Trump agreed in a phone call to work toward a tariff deal, Seoul said Friday, as a deadline approaches to avoid punishing US levies. Lee won a thumping victory in South Korea's election this week after months of political turmoil in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Washington’s 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have now gone into effect, doubling from the previous 25% levy, even as the Trump administration waits for “best offers” from the U.S.’s trading partners.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in April as President Donald Trump sharply escalated tariffs before pausing a large swath of the levies, U.S. Commerce Department data on Thursday showed.