Overview
- The president said duties on autos, wood, pharmaceuticals and “all other reciprocal tariffs” will rise from 15% to 25% because South Korea’s parliament has not ratified an October agreement.
- The unratified package paired lower U.S. auto tariffs with a South Korean investment pledge of about $350 billion, including roughly $150 billion earmarked for shipbuilding cooperation.
- South Korea’s presidential office said it received no prior notice and directed Trade Minister Kim Jung Kwan (also reported as Kim Jung Hwan) to meet U.S. trade minister Howard Lutnick in Washington.
- Autos account for about 27% of South Korea’s exports to the U.S., so reverting to 25% would disadvantage Korean carmakers versus Japan and the EU, which benefit from 15% U.S. auto tariffs.
- The escalation coincides with a U.S. Supreme Court review of presidential authority to use tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy.