US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would raise tariffs on imports from South Korea, accusing the country of “not living up to its deal” with the US. Tariffs had declined to 15 per cent but, assuming his threat is carried out, will jump back to 25 per cent.
“Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS,” he wrote on social media.
The move comes as South Korea, Canada and other long-standing US allies and partners are increasingly willing to engage with China in the face of Trump’s turbulent “America first” policies.
The 79-year-old president previously imposed 10 per cent tariffs on South Korea after declaring an economic emergency and bypassing US congressional approval.
Seoul, however, needed legislative approval for the framework deal announced in July, which was subsequently affirmed during Trump’s October visit to the country when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Our Trade Deals are very important to America. In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to,” Trump said. “We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.”
Seoul said it was not informed in advance of the US plans, apparently blindsided, and said it sought urgent talks with Washington in a bid to resolve the issue.
“There has been no official notification from the US government, nor any explanation of the details,” the South Korean presidential office said in a statement.
“Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan, who is currently in Canada, also plans to visit the United States as soon as possible to consult with Commerce Secretary [Howard] Lutnick on the matter,” it added.
The agreement was finalised after Trump met his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, last autumn, and included investment commitments from South Korea alongside tariff cuts by the United States.
Analysts said Korean officials were scrambling to figure out what provoked Trump’s sudden move, perhaps tied to his learning that ratification of the agreement was moving slowly even as he seeks to show “wins” in advance of November’s midterm election.
“It is also unclear if or when the higher tariffs would go into effect,” said Jeremy Chan, senior analyst with the Eurasia Group consultancy. “While not all industries appear to be included, the mention of autos is likely enough to give the Korean government heart palpitations.”
South Korea’s vehicle industry accounts for some 27 per cent of the nation’s exports to the US.
Chan added that he expected Seoul to work quietly with Lutnick and others to mollify Trump and prevent the implementation of the tariffs.
If the 25 per cent level remains in place – and Trump has a history of backing down after chest-thumping – South Korea would be at a disadvantage relative to competitors such as Japan and the European Union, which have struck deals to avoid a 15 per cent US tariff.
The president’s latest threat suggests that the trade turmoil he unleashed last year will continue in 2026 as the self-declared “tariff man” draws on one of his favourite tools to muscle-flex, build leverage and vent his irritation.
This comes as US voters and global leaders grow increasingly weary of his economic performance, market disruption and constant turnarounds in his quest to bend nations to his will.
A PBS News/NPR/Marist poll released last month found that 38 per cent of Americans thought Trump was doing a good job as president, the lowest percentage since the end of his first term.
Trump’s latest tariff onslaught on Monday – involving one of Washington’s strongest traditional allies – came a few days after his threat to impose 100 per cent taxes on another long-standing ally, Canada, over Ottawa’s trade deal with China.
Only a short while earlier, the mercurial president had called the Canada-China agreement “a good thing”.
Another recent White House threat – to impose a 10 per cent tariff on “any and all goods” from allies Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland for opposing a deal to assume control over Greenland – was walked back.
In a social media post, Trump said of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that if he “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken”.
Trump has repeatedly said his economic policies are attracting record levels of new investment to the United States. That said, many of his heavily hyped deals, ostensibly amounting to hundreds of billions of US dollars, have yet to be finalised.
Canada has negotiated a deal to lower tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in return for lower import taxes on Canadian farm products. But the Trump administration claims the agreement may run afoul of the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, scheduled to be renegotiated this summer. -- South China Morning Post
