US President Donald Trump signs numerous executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday. (EPA-Yonhap)
US President Donald Trump signs numerous executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday. (EPA-Yonhap)

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a memorandum on "America First" trade policy calling for a review of existing US trade agreements to seek "reciprocal and mutually advantageous" concessions with respect to free trade partners, the White House said.

Trump did not mention South Korea in the memorandum, but the document raised the possibility that the South Korea-US free trade agreement could be subject to a fresh review.

"The United States Trade Representative shall review existing United States trade agreements and sectoral trade agreements and recommend any revisions that may be necessary or appropriate to achieve or maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to free trade agreement partner countries," the memorandum read.

Trump also directed the secretary of commerce, in consultation with the secretary of the treasury and the trade representative, to investigate the causes of the US' large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods, as well as the economic and national security implications and risks resulting from such deficits, and recommend appropriate measures to remedy such deficits.

The memorandum showed that the Trump administration is seeking to establish a "robust and reinvigorated" trade policy that promotes investment and productivity, enhances the United States' industrial and technological advantages and defends its economic and national security. (Yonhap)