President Donald Trump declared on Monday an escalation of duties on South Korean imports, lifting them from a 15% rate to 25%.
“As the Korean Legislature failed to pass our Historic trade agreement, which is their prerogative, I am raising South Korean TARIFFS on vehicles, lumber, pharmaceuticals, and all other mutual tariffs from 15% to 25%,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
It remains uncertain whether these adjustments have officially taken effect. The White House did not immediately offer a comment when reached by CNN.
In a statement, South Korea’s Blue House indicated that as of yet, there has been no “official notification or details explained” forthcoming from the U.S. government.
Following this announcement, South Korea’s Trade Minister, currently visiting Canada, is scheduled to travel to the United States for discussions on this matter with Commerce Secretary Howard Latnik, the Blue House reported.
South Korea’s benchmark index, the Kospi, saw a decline exceeding 1% before stabilizing during early trading hours on Tuesday. Hyundai, the nation’s auto giant, experienced a drop greater than 2.2% as of 9:47 a.m. local time.
South Korea stands as a major supplier of foreign goods to the U.S., exporting merchandise valued at $132 billion to the country in 2024, according to Commerce Department figures. Key exports to the U.S. encompass automobiles and auto components, in addition to semiconductors and electronic devices. These items now face the prospect of higher costs due to the increased levies.
Back in July, Trump had unveiled a trade pact with South Korea that prevented tariffs on the country’s goods from rising to the 25% level from a previous 10%. That agreement also stipulated preferential rates for imported vehicles and several other products.
The capacity for Trump to impose widespread tariff hikes on products from South Korea or any other nation could be significantly constrained by the outcome of a landmark tariff case currently before the Supreme Court.
That specific case will determine whether Trump possessed the legitimate authority to implement broad, country-specific tariffs. Should the justices rule against the administration’s position, it is highly likely that Trump would be unable to immediately alter duty rates across all goods entering from specific countries.
Trump’s declaration follows a series of recent tariff threats, which included a proposed 100% duty on Canadian goods and an additional 10% tax targeting nations opposing his ambitions regarding Greenland, the latter of which he subsequently retracted.
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