SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean lawmakers on Thursday passed a law to implement a pledge of $350 billion in U.S. investments Seoul made last year to avoid the Trump administration’s highest tariffs.
Government officials had urged lawmakers to quickly pass the contested bill, submitted in November, as uncertainty mounts for the country’s trade-dependent economy, already rattled by President Donald Trump’s protectionist swing and now fearing the fallout from his war on Iran.
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A crane unloads a container from a truck at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A crane unloads a container at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A truck runs by containers at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Turcks run by containers at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The National Assembly passes a law to implement hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 12 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The bill’s passage came hours after the Trump administration increased pressure on trade partners by opening a new investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries, including China and U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, which could result in new import taxes if U.S. officials see their practices as unfair.
Trump and his team have made clear they’re seeking to use new tariffs to recoup lost revenue after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated his sweeping tariffs issued with emergency powers.
China expressed opposition to the move and called for negotiations to resolve any differences. “China opposes any form of unilateral tariff measures,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing. “Tariff wars and trade wars serve no one’s interests.”
The South Korean law, which passed 226 to 8, calls for establishing a public corporation to manage the promised U.S. investments, including reviewing and selecting projects based on input from South Korean and U.S. trade authorities.
Some lawmakers spoke against the bill ahead of the vote, expressing frustration over Trump’s new trade investigations and the potential impact of the war in the Middle East, which has exposed the vulnerability of South Korea’s export-dependent economy and reliance on imported fuel.
“We cannot be the money machine Trump wants us to be,” said Son Sol, a member of the minor opposition Progressive Party. She said the bill does not give the legislature sufficient power to review and reject investments that could go against South Korean business or public interests.
Following months of tense negotiations, South Korea finalized an agreement with the United States in November to invest $200 billion in U.S. semiconductor and other high-tech industries and another $150 billion in shipbuilding in exchange for Washington lowering reciprocal tariffs on Seoul from 25% to 15%.
The agreement, which followed a breakthrough at an October summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, also caps South Korean investments at $20 billion a year to protect the country’s foreign currency reserves.
Lee’s liberal Democratic Party introduced the legislation in November but faced resistance from opposition lawmakers worried about the economic impact. The legislative holdup frustrated Trump, who in January threatened to raise tariffs on South Korean autos, pharmaceuticals and other goods back to 25%, increasing pressure on the opposition to move the bill forward.
Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed.
A crane unloads a container from a truck at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A crane unloads a container at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A truck runs by containers at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Turcks run by containers at the Uiwang ICD Terminal in Uiwang, South Korea, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The National Assembly passes a law to implement hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 12 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — An attacker armed with a rifle rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest reform synagogues Thursday, driving through a hallway as security opened fire, fatally shooting him, The Associated Press has learned.
The vehicle caught fire after crashing into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, just outside Detroit, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP.
None of the synagogue’s staff or the children at its early childhood center were injured, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said.
The attacker drove through a set of doors and into the hallway where something in the vehicle ignited, Bouchard said.
“He was traveling with purpose down the hall, from my look at the video,” Bouchard said.
Investigators were still working to identify the man and a possible motive, said the person who could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The person cautioned that the investigation was still in the early stages.
In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue.
“No kids or no staff were injured whatsoever,” Bouchard said. He said one security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
The synagogue has multiple security officers, he said, and at least one fired at the suspect, who was found dead inside his vehicle.
“We can’t say what killed him at this point but security did engage the suspect with gunfire,” the sheriff said, adding that it was possible the attacker killed himself or died some other way.
Synagogues around the world have been on edge and have been ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.
The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.
And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.
On Thursday, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office cleared the building and about a dozen parents sprinted to get their children from an early childhood learning center inside. West Bloomfield School District went on lockdown.
Authorities were working to reunite parents with their children at a nearby Jewish Community Center.
Samuel Bennett, whose wife was in the building, said he was deeply relieved to learn she and others were OK. “I don’t even know what the words are,” he told WDIV-TV.
Oakland County is Michigan’s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement saying she was tracking developments.
“This is heartbreaking,” Whitmer said. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”
Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website. It offers educational programs for families and adults.
The website says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit advised all Jewish organizations in the area “to go into lockout protocol — nobody in or out of your building.” The organization later lifted its advisory.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.
“We lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,” said Myers, rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. “No one should dwell in fear because of who they are.”
Durkin Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; and Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., contributed.
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
A woman gathers children as law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue, Thursday, March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
People gather near Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)
