Trump threatens to hike tariffs on South Korea as national assembly has yet to approve last year’s trade deal
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will increase tariffs on South Korean goods because the country’s National Assembly has not yet approved the trade framework announced last year.
Trump said on social media that import taxes on cars, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs from South Korea would be increased, with the rate on other goods increasing from 15% to 25%. The US President previously imposed tariffs by declaring an economic emergency and bypassing congress, while South Korea needed legislative approval for the framework that was announced in July and confirmed during Trump’s visit to the country in October.
“Our trade agreements are very important to America,” Trump said. “In each of these agreements, we acted quickly to reduce tariffs in line with the agreed upon deal.” “We, of course, expect our trading partners to do the same.”
The threat was a reminder that the tariff drama Trump unleashed last year is likely to be repeated again and again this year. The global economy and American voters may find that the global trade architecture is constantly subject to new disruptions and negotiations, as Trump has already sought to impose tariffs in order to bend other countries to his will.
Trump has in the past tied his tariffs to South Korea’s commitments to invest $350 billion in the US economy over several years, including efforts to revitalize US shipyards. But the Trump administration’s relations with South Korea have at times been tense after a raid by immigration officials last year on a Hyundai manufacturing site in Georgia, which led to the arrests of 475 people.
South Korea’s presidential office responded in a statement that the United States had not formally informed it of the plan to increase tariffs.
She said that South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jong-kwan, who is currently visiting Canada, will soon travel to the United States to hold talks with Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick.
The statement said Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, will hold a meeting to discuss Trump’s announcement.
Monday’s announcement of the new tariffs fits a pattern in which Trump plans to continue deploying tariffs, perhaps at the expense of relations with other countries.
Just last week, the president threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries unless the United States took control of Greenland, but backed off his ultimatum after meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump said on Saturday that he would impose a 100% tax on goods coming from Canada if it continues with its plans to boost trade with China.
Trump has boasted of his trade frameworks as attracting new investment to the United States, yet many of his highly publicized deals have yet to be finalized. The European parliament has not yet approved the trade deal pushed by Trump, which would impose a 15% tax on the majority of goods exported by the 27 EU member states.
This year, the United States is preparing to renegotiate its revised 2020 trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. There are also ongoing investigations under Section 232 under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as well as an upcoming Supreme Court decision on whether Trump exceeded his authority by declaring tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
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2026-01-27 00:35:00
