00:00Donald Trump said Monday that he is increasing tariffs on South Korean imports into the U.S.
00:07In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president said that South Korea's legislature was not
00:12living up to its side of a deal with the United States.
00:15Trump added that as a result, he is increasing levies on South Korean autos, lumber, pharma,
00:21and raising all other reciprocal tariffs from 15% to 25%.
00:26It was not immediately clear when the hike would take effect.
00:28The White House and the U.S. Trade Representative's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
00:35South Korea's presidential Blue House said Tuesday that Industry Minister Kim Jong-kwan
00:39would visit the U.S. soon and meet with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
00:44Seoul said it had not been officially notified about the U.S. tariff hikes,
00:48that South Korea's presidential advisor would meet with related ministries to discuss measures.
00:53South Korea's benchmark COSPI index plunged close to 5% from the open on Tuesday following the news,
01:00but later reversed course and was up around 1.5% by late morning.
01:05The won weakened 0.5% against the dollar in early trade after hitting a near-one-month high on Monday.
01:12The deal between the allies was announced last year and includes a $350 billion South Korean investment into the U.S.
01:18exports from the Asian nation hit a record high of just over $709 billion in 2025,
01:25up 3.8% from 2024.
01:28But U.S.-bound shipments fell 3.8%,
01:31although the country was still Seoul's second-biggest market after China.
01:35South Korea's National Assembly usually approves bills only when regular sessions or extraordinary sessions are scheduled.
01:42The next bill review sessions are due to start on February 3rd.
Comments