tariff agreement-chronology

Chronology of major events of S. Korea-U.S. tariff deal leading to U.S. Supreme Court ruling

SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronology of major events related to the tariff agreement between South Korea and the United States over U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff policy, which could face a setback following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court against Washington's scheme.

Jan. 20, 2025 -- Trump takes office as the U.S.' 57th president.

Feb. 10, 2025 -- Trump announces plans to levy a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.

Feb. 13, 2025 -- Trump signs a presidential memorandum to devise a comprehensive plan to customize "reciprocal" tariffs based on trading partners' duties, non-tariff barriers, exchange rate policies and other elements. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Washington's study on the new tariffs will be complete by April 1.

March 12, 2025 -- The U.S. begins imposing 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

March 26, 2025 -- Trump announces an imposition of 25 percent tariffs on all foreign-made cars and car parts starting April 3.

March 30, 2025 -- Trump declares plans to impose a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports and country-specific "reciprocal tariffs" starting April 2.

April 2, 2025 -- Trump unveils "reciprocal" tariff rates for major trading partners, including 25 percent duties for South Korea.

April 9, 2025 -- Trump announces a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs for all countries except for China. Tariffs on Chinese goods are raised to 145 percent.

April 24, 2025 -- Then Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and then Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun hold "2+2" trade talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer in Washington.

June 3, 2025 -- Lee Jae Myung is elected president of South Korea following the ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law.

June 24, 2025 -- Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo visits the U.S. and requests for South Korea to be exempted from Washington's tariff scheme in meetings with Greer and Lutnick.

July 8, 2025 -- Yeo travels to the U.S. and meets U.S. government officials, including Lutnik and Greer, to discuss tariff issues and industrial cooperation.

July 8, 2025 -- Trump sends a letter to Lee, stating that the U.S. will impose a 25 percent tariff on South Korea starting Aug. 1.

July 23, 2025 -- Yeo travels to Washington and meets with Greer.

July 24, 2025 -- Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan visits the U.S. to join Yeo for trade negotiations with Lutnick.

July 25, 2025 -- Kim and Yeo fly to New York to continue negotiations with Lutnick.

July 27, 2025 -- Kim and Yeo travel to Scotland for further tariff negotiations with Lutnick.

July 29, 2025 -- Seoul's trade delegation, including Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, meets with Lutnick and Greer for further trade negotiations.

July 30, 2025 -- Seoul's trade delegation meets Trump at the White House. Following the meeting, Trump announces that his administration has reached a trade deal with South Korea to lower "reciprocal" tariffs on Seoul to 15 percent in return for its commitment to invest $350 billion in the U.S. and other pledges.

Aug. 26, 2025 -- Lee and Trump hold a summit in Washington, where they effectively endorsed the outcome of the tariff deal. Seoul's presidential office said that the two nations are working to draw up a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) after ironing out details.

Sept. 12, 2025 -- Kim visits the U.S. for follow-up talks with Lutnick to iron out differences over the details of the trade agreement under which South Korea pledged to invest $350 billion in the U.S. in exchange for Washington lowering its "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korea from 25 percent to 15 percent.

Sept. 16, 2025 -- Yeo visits the U.S. for follow-up talks with Greer on tariff issues. Meanwhile, the U.S. reduces tariffs on Japanese autos to 15 percent from 27.5 percent.

Sept. 22, 2025 -- Lee stresses the need for South Korea to secure financial mechanisms, such as a currency swap arrangement with the U.S., to meet Washington's investment demands, warning that the country could face a crisis similar to that of 1997 without such measures.

Sept. 25, 2025 -- Trump describes South Korea's $350 billion investment commitment as "up front," noting that his administration is taking in "tremendous" amounts of money thanks to his tariff policy.

Oct. 4, 2025 -- Kim and Lutnick meet in New York to discuss tariff issues. Upon returning home, Kim told reporters that the two countries have reached a broad understanding over the sensitivity of Seoul's foreign exchange market.

Oct. 16, 2025 -- Kim and Lutnick hold another round of talks in Washington. Yeo, Koo and Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, were also in the U.S. for meetings with U.S. officials to finalize the details of the agreement.

Oct. 25, 2025 -- Trump says in a press meeting aboard Air Force One that a trade deal with South Korea is "pretty close to being finalized" and he is "ready" if Seoul is ready to finalize the details of the framework deal.

Oct. 26, 2025 -- Lee says in an interview with Bloomberg that South Korea and the U.S. remain deadlocked on key details about Seoul's $350 billion investment pledge as part of the trade agreement, though he believes they will be able to reach a "rational result."

Oct. 29, 2025 -- South Korea and the U.S. announce a trade deal at a summit between Lee and Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Gyeongju. The agreement calls for Seoul to make a $200 billion cash investment in the U.S. with an annual cap of $20 billion, as part of a broader $350 billion investment package. The remaining $150 billion will be spent on shipbuilding cooperation projects.

Nov. 14, 2025 -- South Korea and the U.S. release a joint fact sheet outlining the details of the summit agreements, which encompass their commitments in tariffs and other issues.

Dec. 4, 2025 -- The U.S. publishes a Federal Register notice implementing portions of its trade agreement with South Korea, including a 15 percent tariff on Korean automobiles applied retroactively to Nov. 1.

Jan. 27, 2026 -- Trump says he is raising "reciprocal" tariffs and auto duties on South Korea to 25 percent from 15 percent as he argued the Asian ally's legislature has not yet completed a domestic process to implement the bilateral trade deal.

In response, Cheong Wa Dae said South Korea will convey its commitment to the U.S. to implementing its trade deal with Washington.

Jan. 28, 2026 -- Trump says his administration will work "something" out with South Korea regarding the tariff agreement without specifying details.

Feb. 21, 2026 -- The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a lower court's ruling against Trump's use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify his "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korea and other trading partners in a major setback to his trade policy.

In response, Trump signed a proclamation to impose a new 10 percent global tariff and vowed to take other measures to replace the sweeping emergency duties that the Supreme Court struck down.

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